De Martino Federico, Moerel Michelle, Ugurbil Kamil, Goebel Rainer, Yacoub Essa, Formisano Elia
Department of Cognitive Neurosciences, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, 6229 ER Maastricht, The Netherlands; Center for Magnetic Resonance Research, Department of Radiology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455;
Center for Magnetic Resonance Research, Department of Radiology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455;
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2015 Dec 29;112(52):16036-41. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1507552112. Epub 2015 Dec 14.
Columnar arrangements of neurons with similar preference have been suggested as the fundamental processing units of the cerebral cortex. Within these columnar arrangements, feed-forward information enters at middle cortical layers whereas feedback information arrives at superficial and deep layers. This interplay of feed-forward and feedback processing is at the core of perception and behavior. Here we provide in vivo evidence consistent with a columnar organization of the processing of sound frequency in the human auditory cortex. We measure submillimeter functional responses to sound frequency sweeps at high magnetic fields (7 tesla) and show that frequency preference is stable through cortical depth in primary auditory cortex. Furthermore, we demonstrate that-in this highly columnar cortex-task demands sharpen the frequency tuning in superficial cortical layers more than in middle or deep layers. These findings are pivotal to understanding mechanisms of neural information processing and flow during the active perception of sounds.
具有相似偏好的神经元柱状排列被认为是大脑皮层的基本处理单元。在这些柱状排列中，前馈信息进入皮层中间层，而反馈信息到达表层和深层。这种前馈和反馈处理的相互作用是感知和行为的核心。在这里，我们提供了与人类听觉皮层中声音频率处理的柱状组织相一致的体内证据。我们在高磁场（7特斯拉）下测量了对声音频率扫描的亚毫米级功能反应，并表明在初级听觉皮层中，频率偏好通过皮层深度保持稳定。此外，我们证明，在这个高度柱状的皮层中，任务需求使表层皮层的频率调谐比中间层或深层更尖锐。这些发现对于理解声音主动感知过程中神经信息处理和流动的机制至关重要。
