Reversal of Cortical Information Flow During Visual Imagery As Compared to Visual Perception

Overview

Journal Neuroimage

Specialty Radiology

Date 2014 Jun 10

PMID 24910071

Citations 32

Authors

Daniela Dentico

Bing Leung Cheung

Jui-Yang Chang

Jeffrey Guokas

Melanie Boly

Giulio Tononi

Barry Van Veen

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

The role of bottom-up and top-down connections during visual perception and the formation of mental images was examined by analyzing high-density EEG recordings of brain activity using two state-of-the-art methods for assessing the directionality of cortical signal flow: state-space Granger causality and dynamic causal modeling. We quantified the directionality of signal flow in an occipito-parieto-frontal cortical network during perception of movie clips versus mental replay of the movies and free visual imagery. Both Granger causality and dynamic causal modeling analyses revealed an increased top-down signal flow in parieto-occipital cortices during mental imagery as compared to visual perception. These results are the first direct demonstration of a reversal of the predominant direction of cortical signal flow during mental imagery as compared to perception.

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