Zhang Jie, Xia Jing, Zhou Huihui, Wang Shuo
Department of Radiology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA.
Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China.
Cell Rep. 2025 Jul 22;44(7):115905. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2025.115905. Epub 2025 Jun 25.
Goal-directed visual attention is a fundamental cognitive function that engages multiple brain regions, yet the neural circuit mechanisms in humans remain unclear. We addressed this question by simultaneously recording neural activity from the medial temporal lobe (MTL) and medial frontal cortex (MFC) during a goal-directed visual search task. We found that gamma-band synchronization between the MTL and MFC signaled target detection. Using two additional tasks, we dissociated the neural processes underlying working memory and search decision execution, revealing distinct patterns of synchronization. Further analyses showed that dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) spike-MTL LFP synchronization encoded search dynamics and contributed to guiding behavior. Importantly, MTL-MFC synchronization disproportionately modulated neural representational geometry, highlighting its impact on information encoding. Finally, we demonstrated directional gamma influences across brain areas and cross-frequency coupling. Together, these findings illuminate the circuit-level dynamics underlying visual attention and offer insights into how the human brain selectively processes information in complex visual environments.
目标导向的视觉注意力是一种涉及多个脑区的基本认知功能，但人类的神经回路机制仍不清楚。我们通过在目标导向的视觉搜索任务期间同时记录内侧颞叶（MTL）和内侧前额叶皮质（MFC）的神经活动来解决这个问题。我们发现MTL和MFC之间的伽马波段同步标志着目标检测。通过另外两项任务，我们分离了工作记忆和搜索决策执行背后的神经过程，揭示了不同的同步模式。进一步的分析表明，背侧前扣带回皮质（dACC）的尖峰-MTL局部场电位同步编码了搜索动态并有助于指导行为。重要的是，MTL-MFC同步对神经表征几何结构有不成比例的调节作用，突出了其对信息编码的影响。最后，我们证明了跨脑区的定向伽马影响和交叉频率耦合。总之，这些发现阐明了视觉注意力背后的回路水平动态，并为人类大脑如何在复杂视觉环境中选择性地处理信息提供了见解。
