Sucharit Katyal

Topography of covert visual attention in human superior colliculus.

Experiments were performed to examine the topography of covert visual attention signals in human superior colliculus (SC), both across its surface and in its depth. We measured the retinotopic organization of SC to direct visual stimulation using a 90° wedge of moving dots that slowly rotated around fixation. Subjects (n = 5) were cued to perform a difficult speed-discrimination task in the rotating region. To measure the retinotopy of covert attention, we used a full-field array of similarly moving dots. Subjects were cued to perform the same speed-discrimination task within a 90° wedge-shaped region, and only the cue rotated around fixation. High-resolution functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI, 1.2 mm voxels) data were acquired throughout SC. These data were then aligned to a high-resolution T1-weighted reference volume. The SC was segmented in this volume so that the surface of the SC could be computationally modeled and to permit calculation of a depth map for laminar analysis. Retinotopic maps were obtained for both direct visual stimulation and covert attention. These maps showed a similar spatial distribution to visual stimulation maps observed in rhesus macaque and were in registration with each other. Within the depth of SC, both visual attention and stimulation produced activity primarily in the superficial and intermediate layers, but stimulation activity extended significantly more deeply than attention.

Endogenous Attention Signals Evoked by Threshold Contrast Detection in Human Superior Colliculus

Human superior colliculus (SC) responds in a retinotopically selective manner when attention is deployed on a high-contrast visual stimulus using a discrimination task. To further elucidate the role of SC in endogenous visual attention, high-resolution fMRI was used to demonstrate that SC also exhibits a retinotopically selective response for covert attention in the absence of significant visual stimulation using a threshold–contrast detection task. SC neurons have a laminar organization according to their function, with visually responsive neurons present in the superficial layers and visuomotor neurons in the intermediate layers. The results show that the response evoked by the threshold–contrast detection task is significantly deeper than the response evoked by the high-contrast speed discrimination task, reflecting a functional dissociation of the attentional enhancement of visuomotor and visual neurons, respectively. Such a functional dissociation of attention within SC laminae provides a subcortical basis for the oculomotor theory of attention.

High-resolution functional magnetic resonance imaging methods for human midbrain.

Functional MRI (fMRI) is a widely used tool for non-invasively measuring correlates of human brain activity. However, its use has mostly been focused upon measuring activity on the surface of cerebral cortex rather than in subcortical regions such as midbrain and brainstem. Subcortical fMRI must overcome two challenges: spatial resolution and physiological noise. Here we describe an optimized set of techniques developed to perform high-resolution fMRI in human SC, a structure on the dorsal surface of the midbrain; the methods can also be used to image other brainstem and subcortical structures. High-resolution (1.2 mm voxels) fMRI of the SC requires a non-conventional approach. The desired spatial sampling is obtained using a multi-shot (interleaved) spiral acquisition (1). Since, T(2)* of SC tissue is longer than in cortex, a correspondingly longer echo time (T(E) ~ 40 msec) is used to maximize functional contrast. To cover the full extent of the SC, 8-10 slices are obtained. For each session a structural anatomy with the same slice prescription as the fMRI is also obtained, which is used to align the functional data to a high-resolution reference volume. In a separate session, for each subject, we create a high-resolution (0.7 mm sampling) reference volume using a T(1)-weighted sequence that gives good tissue contrast. In the reference volume, the midbrain region is segmented using the ITK-SNAP software application (2). This segmentation is used to create a 3D surface representation of the midbrain that is both smooth and accurate (3). The surface vertices and normals are used to create a map of depth from the midbrain surface within the tissue (4). Functional data is transformed into the coordinate system of the segmented reference volume. Depth associations of the voxels enable the averaging of fMRI time series data within specified depth ranges to improve signal quality. Data is rendered on the 3D surface for visualization. In our lab we use this technique for measuring topographic maps of visual stimulation and covert and overt visual attention within the SC (1). As an example, we demonstrate the topographic representation of polar angle to visual stimulation in SC.

Polar-angle representation of saccadic eye movements in human superior colliculus

&NA; The superior colliculus (SC) is a layered midbrain structure involved in directing both head and eye movements and coordinating visual attention. Although a retinotopic organization for the mediation of saccadic eye‐movements has been shown in monkey SC, in human SC the topography of saccades has not been confirmed. Here, a novel experimental paradigm was performed by five participants (one female) while high‐resolution (1.2‐mm) functional magnetic resonance imaging was used to measure activity evoked by saccadic eye movements within human SC. Results provide three critical observations about the topography of the SC: (1) saccades along the superior‐inferior visual axis are mapped across the medial‐lateral anatomy of the SC; (2) the saccadic eye‐movement representation is in register with the retinotopic organization of visual stimulation; and (3) activity evoked by saccades occurs deeper within SC than that evoked by visual stimulation. These approaches lay the foundation for studying the organization of human subcortical – and enhanced cortical mapping – of eye‐movement mechanisms. Graphical abstract Figure. No caption available. HighlightsHigh‐resolution fMRI enabled imaging of intermediate layers of human SC.Saccades along superior‐inferior visual field are mapped across medial‐lateral SC.Saccadic eye‐movement maps lie deeper in SC and are in alignment with retinotopy.Human measurements of SC support the emerging visual‐motor theory of attention.

Surface-based imaging methods for high-resolution functional magnetic resonance imaging

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has become an exceedingly popular technique for studies of human brain activity. Typically, fMRI is performed with >3-mm sampling, so that the imaging data can be regarded as two-dimensional samples that roughly average through the typically 1.5—4-mm thickness of cerebral cortex. The use of higher spatial resolutions, <1.5-mm sampling, complicates the use of fMRI, as one must now consider activity variations within the depth of the brain. We present a set of surface-based methods to exploit the use of high-resolution fMRI for depth analysis. These methods utilize white-matter segmentations coupled with deformable-surface algorithms to create a smooth surface representation at the gray-white interface. These surfaces provide vertex positions and surface normals, vector references for depth calculations. That information enables averaging schemes that can increase contrast-to-noise ratio, as well as permitting the direct analysis of depth profiles of functional activity in the human brain.