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Adaptation to binocular anticorrelation results in increased neural excitability

Published version
Peer-reviewed

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Authors

Rideaux, Reuben 
Michael, Elizabeth 
Welchman, Andrew E 

Abstract

Throughout the brain, information from individual sources converges onto higher order neurons. For example, information from the two eyes first converges in binocular neurons in area V1. Some neurons appear tuned to similarities between sources of information, which makes intuitive sense in a system striving to match multiple sensory signals to a single external cause, i.e., establish causal inference. However, there are also neurons that are tuned to dissimilar information. In particular, some binocular neurons respond maximally to a dark feature in one eye and a light feature in the other. Despite compelling neurophysiological and behavioural evidence supporting the existence of these neurons (Cumming & Parker, 1997; Janssen, Vogels, Liu, & Orban, 2003; Katyal, Vergeer, He, He, & Engel, 2018; Kingdom, Jennings, & Georgeson, 2018; Tsao, Conway, & Livingstone, 2003), their function has remained opaque. To determine how neural mechanisms tuned to dissimilarities support perception, here we use electroencephalography to measure human observers’ steady-state visually evoked potentials (SSVEPs) in response to change in depth after prolonged viewing of anticorrelated and correlated random-dot stereograms (RDS). We find that adaptation to anticorrelated RDS results in larger SSVEPs, while adaptation to correlated RDS has no effect. These results are consistent with recent theoretical work suggesting ‘what not’ neurons play a suppressive role in supporting stereopsis (Goncalves & Welchman, 2017); that is, selective adaptation of neurons tuned to binocular mismatches reduces suppression resulting in increased neural excitability.

Description

Keywords

Adaptation, Physiological, Adult, Depth Perception, Electroencephalography, Evoked Potentials, Visual, Eye-Tracking Technology, Female, Humans, Male, Neurons, Pattern Recognition, Visual, Vision Disparity, Young Adult

Journal Title

Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

0898-929X
1530-8898

Volume Title

32

Publisher

MIT Press
Sponsorship
Wellcome Trust (095183/Z/10/Z)
Leverhulme Trust (ECF-2017-573)
Isaac Newton Trust (17.08(o))
This work was supported by the Leverhulme Trust (ECF-2017-573 to R. R.), the Isaac Newton Trust (17.08(o) to R. R.), and the Wellcome Trust (095183/Z/10/Z to A. E. W. and 206495/Z/17/Z to E. M.).