Motion direction is represented as a bimodal probability distribution in the human visual cortex

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• Ece Bilgic
• Friday 30 May 2025, 14:00-15:00
• https://cam-ac-uk.zoom.us/j/92612577704?pwd=MUtqMjVQdXNmUTVIYjRkMG1NUW9GZz09.

If you have a question about this talk, please contact Adam Triabhall.

This week we will discuss and debate a paper by Chetverikov and Jehee (2023).

Abstract: “Humans infer motion direction from noisy sensory signals. We hypothesize that to make these inferences more precise, the visual system computes motion direction not only from velocity but also spatial orientation signals – a ‘streak’ created by moving objects. We implement this hypothesis in a Bayesian model, which quantifies knowledge with probability distributions, and test its predictions using psychophysics and fMRI. Using a probabilistic pattern-based analysis, we decode probability distributions of motion direction from trial-by-trial activity in the human visual cortex. Corroborating the predictions, the decoded distributions have a bimodal shape, with peaks that predict the direction and magnitude of behavioral errors. Interestingly, we observe similar bimodality in the distribution of the observers’ behavioral responses across trials. Together, these results suggest that observers use spatial orientation signals when estimating motion direction. More broadly, our findings indicate that the cortical representation of low-level visual features, such as motion direction, can reflect a combination of several qualitatively distinct signals” (Chetverikov & Jehee, 2023).

Reference: Chetverikov, A., & Jehee, J. F. M. (2023). Motion direction is represented as a bimodal probability distribution in the human visual cortex. Nature Communications, 14(1), 7634–7634. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-43251-w

This talk is part of the The Craik Journal Club series.

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• The Craik Journal Club
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