scholarly journals Review: Higher Order Sensory Processing

Perception ◽  
1992 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 141-142
Author(s):  
V Dobson
Keyword(s):  
Sensory Processing ◽  
Higher Order

scholarly journals Visual field map clusters in human frontoparietal cortex

eLife ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wayne E Mackey ◽  
Jonathan Winawer ◽  
Clayton E Curtis
Keyword(s):  
Visual Field ◽  
Sensory Processing ◽  
Polar Angle ◽  
Higher Order ◽  
Visual Maps ◽  
Visual Areas ◽  
Frontoparietal Cortex ◽  
Retinotopic Organization ◽  
Spatial Topography ◽  
Ability To Drive

The visual neurosciences have made enormous progress in recent decades, in part because of the ability to drive visual areas by their sensory inputs, allowing researchers to define visual areas reliably across individuals and across species. Similar strategies for parcellating higher-order cortex have proven elusive. Here, using a novel experimental task and nonlinear population receptive field modeling, we map and characterize the topographic organization of several regions in human frontoparietal cortex. We discover representations of both polar angle and eccentricity that are organized into clusters, similar to visual cortex, where multiple gradients of polar angle of the contralateral visual field share a confluent fovea. This is striking because neural activity in frontoparietal cortex is believed to reflect higher-order cognitive functions rather than external sensory processing. Perhaps the spatial topography in frontoparietal cortex parallels the retinotopic organization of sensory cortex to enable an efficient interface between perception and higher-order cognitive processes. Critically, these visual maps constitute well-defined anatomical units that future studies of frontoparietal cortex can reliably target.

scholarly journals Visual field map clusters in human frontoparietal cortex

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wayne E. Mackey ◽  
Jonathan Winawer ◽  
Clayton E. Curtis
Keyword(s):  
Visual Field ◽  
Sensory Processing ◽  
Polar Angle ◽  
Higher Order ◽  
Visual Maps ◽  
Visual Areas ◽  
Frontoparietal Cortex ◽  
Retinotopic Organization ◽  
Spatial Topography ◽  
Ability To Drive

SUMMARYThe visual neurosciences have made enormous progress in recent decades, in part because of the ability to drive visual areas by their sensory inputs, allowing researchers to reliably define visual areas across individuals and across species. Similar strategies for parceling higher-order cortex have proven elusive. Here, using a novel experimental task and nonlinear population receptive field modeling we map and characterize the topographic organization of several regions in human frontoparietal cortex. We discover maps of both polar angle and eccentricity that are organized into clusters, similar to visual cortex, where multiple maps of polar angle of the contralateral visual field share a confluent fovea. This is striking because neural activity in frontoparietal cortex is believed to reflect higher-order cognitive functions rather than external sensory processing. Perhaps the spatial topography in frontoparietal cortex parallels the retinotopic organization of sensory cortex to enable an efficient interface between perception and higher-order cognitive processes. Critically, these visual maps constitute well-defined anatomical units that future study of frontoparietal cortex can reliably target.

Multisensory perceptual interactions between higher-order temporal frequency signals

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lexi E. Crommett ◽  
Deeksha Madala ◽  
Jeffrey M Yau
Keyword(s):  
Sensory Processing ◽  
Temporal Frequency ◽  
Temporal Variations ◽  
Higher Order ◽  
Frequency Sweep ◽  
Auditory Cues ◽  
Naturally Occurring ◽  
Multisensory Interactions ◽  
Sweep Direction ◽  
Frequency Sweeps

Naturally occurring signals in audition and touch can be complex and marked by temporal variations in frequency and amplitude. Auditory frequency sweep processing has been studied extensively; however, much less is known about sweep processing in touch since studies have primarily focused on the perception of simple sinusoidal vibrations. Given the extensive interactions between audition and touch in the frequency processing of pure tone signals, we reasoned that these senses might also interact in the processing of higher-order frequency representations like sweeps. In a series of psychophysical experiments, we characterized the influence of auditory distractors on the ability of participants to discriminate tactile frequency sweeps. Auditory frequency sweeps systematically biased the tactile perception of sweep direction. Importantly, auditory cues exerted little influence on tactile sweep direction perception when the sounds and vibrations occupied different absolute frequency ranges or when the sounds consisted of intensity sweeps. Thus, audition and touch interact in frequency sweep perception in a frequency- and feature-specific manner. Our results demonstrate that audio-tactile interactions are not constrained to the processing of simple sinusoids. Because higher-order frequency representations may be synthesized from simpler representations, our findings imply that multisensory interactions in the temporal frequency domain span multiple hierarchical levels in sensory processing.

Multi-sensory processing facilitates perception but direct perception of global invariants remains unproven

2004 ◽  
Vol 27 (6) ◽  
pp. 891-892
Author(s):  
Lawrence Warwick-Evans
Keyword(s):  
Sensory Processing ◽  
Higher Order ◽  
Perceptual System ◽  
Frames Of Reference ◽  
Direct Perception ◽  
Sensory Convergence ◽  
The Senses ◽  
Global Invariants

The existence of sensory convergence does not establish that the senses function as a single unified perceptual system. Reality is fully specified only by a one:many mapping onto the totality of energy arrays, and these provide alternative frames of reference for movement. It is therefore possible that higher order crossmodal relationships are detected by skilled perceivers, but this has not been confirmed empirically.

scholarly journals Context-dependent and dynamic functional influence of corticothalamic pathways to first- and higher-order visual thalamus

2020 ◽  
Vol 117 (23) ◽  
pp. 13066-13077 ◽  
Author(s):  
Megan A. Kirchgessner ◽  
Alexis D. Franklin ◽  
Edward M. Callaway
Keyword(s):  
Sensory Processing ◽  
Higher Order ◽  
Thalamic Nuclei ◽  
Tonic Firing ◽  
First Order ◽  
Visual Thalamus ◽  
Animal Remains ◽  
Context Dependent ◽  
Stimulation Paradigm

Layer 6 (L6) is the sole purveyor of corticothalamic (CT) feedback to first-order thalamus and also sends projections to higher-order thalamus, yet how it engages the full corticothalamic circuit to contribute to sensory processing in an awake animal remains unknown. We sought to elucidate the functional impact of L6CT projections from the primary visual cortex to the dorsolateral geniculate nucleus (first-order) and pulvinar (higher-order) using optogenetics and extracellular electrophysiology in awake mice. While sustained L6CT photostimulation suppresses activity in both visual thalamic nuclei in vivo, moderate-frequency (10 Hz) stimulation powerfully facilitates thalamic spiking. We show that each stimulation paradigm differentially influences the balance between monosynaptic excitatory and disynaptic inhibitory corticothalamic pathways to the dorsolateral geniculate nucleus and pulvinar, as well as the prevalence of burst versus tonic firing. Altogether, our results support a model in which L6CTs modulate first- and higher-order thalamus through parallel excitatory and inhibitory pathways that are highly dynamic and context-dependent.

The Cartesian Broadway

1998 ◽  
Vol 21 (6) ◽  
pp. 775-776
Author(s):  
Christopher W. Tyler
Keyword(s):  
Sensory Processing ◽  
Higher Order ◽  
Stimulus Properties ◽  
The Core ◽  
Behavioral Interaction ◽  
Stationary Observer

Although Pessoa, Teller & Noë make excellent points concerning the need for a mechanism of filling-in, they throw out the baby of neural specificity with the bathwater of isomorphism and the homuncular observer. The core act of perception is sensory processing by a stationary observer and does not require overt behavioral interaction with the environment. The complexity of intracortical interconnectivity does not preclude local specificity in the representation of higher-order stimulus properties.

Dual systems for all: Higher-order, role-based relational reasoning as a uniquely derived feature of human cognition

2019 ◽  
Vol 42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel J. Povinelli ◽  
Gabrielle C. Glorioso ◽  
Shannon L. Kuznar ◽  
Mateja Pavlic
Keyword(s):  
Temporal Reasoning ◽  
Higher Order ◽  
Important Case ◽  
Human Cognition ◽  
Relational Reasoning ◽  
Dual Systems ◽  
First Order ◽  
Reasoning System ◽  
Role Based

Abstract Hoerl and McCormack demonstrate that although animals possess a sophisticated temporal updating system, there is no evidence that they also possess a temporal reasoning system. This important case study is directly related to the broader claim that although animals are manifestly capable of first-order (perceptually-based) relational reasoning, they lack the capacity for higher-order, role-based relational reasoning. We argue this distinction applies to all domains of cognition.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document