Background connectivity between frontal and sensory cortex depends on task state, independent of stimulus modality.

The human brain has the ability to process identical information differently depending on the task. In order to perform a given task, the brain must select and react to the appropriate stimuli while ignoring other irrelevant stimuli. The dynamic nature of environmental stimuli and behavioral intentions requires an equally dynamic set of responses within the brain.

Retinotopic patterns of functional connectivity between V1 and large-scale brain networks during resting fixation.

Psychophysical and neurobiological evidence suggests that central and peripheral vision are specialized for different functions. This specialization of function might be expected to lead to differences in the large-scale functional interactions of early cortical areas that represent central and peripheral visual space. Here, we characterize differences in whole-brain functional connectivity among sectors in primary visual cortex (V1) corresponding to central, near-peripheral, and far-peripheral vision during resting fixation.

Cortical thickness in human V1 associated with central vision loss.

Better understanding of the extent and scope of visual cortex plasticity following central vision loss is essential both for clarifying the mechanisms of brain plasticity and for future development of interventions to retain or restore visual function. This study investigated structural differences in primary visual cortex between normally-sighted controls and participants with central vision loss due to macular degeneration (MD). Ten participants with MD and ten age-, gender-, and education-matched controls with normal vision were included.

Distinct effects of trial-driven and task Set-related control in primary visual cortex.

Task sets are task-specific configurations of cognitive processes that facilitate task-appropriate reactions to stimuli. While it is established that the trial-by-trial deployment of visual attention to expected stimuli influences neural responses in primary visual cortex (V1) in a retinotopically specific manner, it is not clear whether the mechanisms that help maintain a task set over many trials also operate with similar retinotopic specificity. Here, we address this question by using BOLD fMRI to characterize how portions of V1 that are specialized for different eccentricities respond during distinct components of an attention-demanding discrimination task: cue-driven preparation for a trial, trial-driven processing, task-initiation at the beginning of a block of trials, and task-maintenance throughout a block of trials.

Retinotopic patterns of background connectivity between V1 and fronto-parietal cortex are modulated by task demands.

Attention facilitates the processing of task-relevant visual information and suppresses interference from task-irrelevant information. Modulations of neural activity in visual cortex depend on attention, and likely result from signals originating in fronto-parietal and cingulo-opercular regions of cortex. Here, we tested the hypothesis that attentional facilitation of visual processing is accomplished in part by changes in how brain networks involved in attentional control interact with sectors of V1 that represent different retinal eccentricities.

Early visual cortex reflects initiation and maintenance of task set.

The human brain is able to process information flexibly, depending on a person's task. The mechanisms underlying this ability to initiate and maintain a task set are not well understood, but they are important for understanding the flexibility of human behavior and developing therapies for disorders involving attention. Here we investigate the differential roles of early visual cortical areas in initiating and maintaining a task set.