School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.
Department of Neurophysiology, Max Planck Institute for Brain Research, Frankfurt, Germany.
Elife. 2020 May 5;9:e50232. doi: 10.7554/eLife.50232.
Mental imagery provides an essential simulation tool for remembering the past and planning the future, with its strength affecting both cognition and mental health. Research suggests that neural activity spanning prefrontal, parietal, temporal, and visual areas supports the generation of mental images. Exactly how this network controls the strength of visual imagery remains unknown. Here, brain imaging and transcranial magnetic phosphene data show that lower resting activity and excitability levels in early visual cortex (V1-V3) predict stronger sensory imagery. Further, electrically decreasing visual cortex excitability using tDCS increases imagery strength, demonstrating a causative role of visual cortex excitability in controlling visual imagery. Together, these data suggest a neurophysiological mechanism of cortical excitability involved in controlling the strength of mental images.
心理意象为记忆过去和规划未来提供了重要的模拟工具，其强度会影响认知和心理健康。研究表明，横跨前额叶、顶叶、颞叶和视觉区域的神经活动支持心理意象的产生。这个网络是如何控制视觉意象的强度尚不清楚。本研究通过脑成像和经颅磁闪光视觉诱发电位（phosphene）数据表明，早期视觉皮层（V1-V3）的静息活动和兴奋性水平较低与较强的感觉意象相关。进一步地，通过 tDCS 降低视觉皮层兴奋性可以增强意象强度，表明视觉皮层兴奋性在控制视觉意象中起因果作用。这些数据共同表明，皮层兴奋性的神经生理学机制参与了控制心理意象强度的过程。
