Biology subjects

Rowe, E.

Publications and source records attributed to Rowe, E..

4 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

Testing the Spatiotemporal Predictions of Global Neuronal Workspace Theory and Integrated Information Theory

The neural mechanisms underlying conscious perception remain contested, with global neuronal workspace theory (GNWT) and integrated information theory (IIT) offering divergent predictions about the spatiotemporal dynamics of conscious processing. The Cogitate Consortium (2025) recently conducted a large-scale adversarial collaboration to arbitrate between GNWT and IIT; however, some of their analyses yielded mixed findings. As the original study relied on functional connectivity, it could not assess the directed neural influences required to directly test the mechanistic claims of these theories. Here, we re-examined the Cogitate Consortiums MEG dataset (N = 100) using dynamic causal modelling (DCM) to test the effective connectivity profiles predicted by each theory during task-irrelevant face perception. We adopted a split discovery-validation procedure and an expanding time-window approach to track the temporal evolution of prototypical networks for each theory. Specifically, we evaluated GNWTs prediction of phasic prefrontal "ignition" by testing the necessity of PFC feedback to category-selective areas at stimulus onset and offset, and then tested IITs prediction of sustained posterior integration by testing extrinsic feedback and intrinsic connectivity within content-specific regions. We found support for both GNWT predictions of prefrontal ignition at stimulus onset and offset; noting that the latter was not previously observed in the original Cogitate analyses. For IIT, whilst feedback connectivity between the fusiform gyrus and primary visual cortex was not sustained throughout the stimulus duration, intrinsic fusiform gyrus connectivity was broadly consistent with IITs prediction of sustained processing within a content-specific substrate. However, a post-hoc validation analysis comparing face- and object-specific DCM networks did not yield strong evidence for face selectivity at any time window (pp< 0.95), warranting a conservative interpretation of the IIT findings in particular.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2025

Weakening of subcortical and strengthening of cortical visual pathways across early adolescence

BackgroundMounting evidence suggests that amygdalar nuclei receive visual information via both a well-characterized cortical pathway through the inferior temporal cortex and a subcortical route through the superior colliculus and pulvinar. This subcortical pathway may facilitate rapid responses to salient visual stimuli and could explain phenomena such as blindsight. However, controversies remain about the organization of the subcortical pathway, its role in visual processing, and how the cortical and subcortical pathways mature across development. MethodsTo address these questions we used longitudinal diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI) data from 4361 participants in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study, reconstructing every major segment of the cortical and subcortical amygdala pathways. We tested the existence of the subcortical pathway against null tractography models, characterized cortical and subcortical pathways development across early adolescence, and investigated their association with visual processing speed. ResultsWe provide evidence for the existence of bilateral pulvinar-amygdala pathways against a null model (all p < 0.001, corrected). While cortical tracts involving the primary and extrastriate visual cortex and the inferior-temporal cortex strengthened with chronological age and over pubertal development, we demonstrate that subcortical pulvinar-amygdala connectivity decreased over pubertal development. Greater connectivity strength of the right pulvinar-amygdala tract was associated with faster responses on a visual task for both emotional face and place stimuli, a relationship also seen for cortical tracts. ConclusionThis study provides evidence for the existence of pulvinar to amygdala tracts in the largest sample of adolescent participants studied to date. Greater connectivity in both cortical and subcortical tracts were associated with faster reaction time on a visual task, but further work will be needed to investigate the specificity of this association in terms of both task and tract. In line with the hypothesized importance of the subcortical pathway in early development, we show that the developmental trajectories of cortical and subcortical pathways diverge and highlight the influence of pubertal development, with cortical pathways generally strengthening and subcortical pathways weakening across early adolescence.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2023

Evidence for adaptive myelination of subcortical shortcuts for visual motion perception in healthy adults

Conscious visual motion information follows a cortical pathway from the retina to the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) and on to the primary visual cortex (V1) before arriving at the middle temporal visual area (MT/V5). Alternative subcortical pathways that bypass V1 are thought to convey unconscious visual information. One flows from the retina to the pulvinar (PUL) and on to MT; while the other directly connects the LGN to MT. Evidence for these pathways comes from non-human primates and modest-sized studies in humans with brain lesions. Thus, the aim of the current study was to reconstruct these pathways in a large sample of neurotypical individuals and to determine the degree to which these pathways are myelinated, suggesting information flow is rapid. We used the publicly available 7T (N = 98; discovery) and 3T (N = 381; validation) diffusion MRI datasets from the Human Connectome Project to reconstruct the PUL-MT and LGN-MT pathways. We found more fibre tracts with greater density in the left hemisphere. Although the left PUL-MT path was denser, the bilateral LGN-MT tracts were more heavily myelinated, suggesting faster signal transduction. We suggest that this apparent discrepancy may be due to adaptive myelination caused by more frequent use of the LGN-MT pathway that leads to greater myelination and faster overall signal transmission.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2016

Bayesian mapping reveals that attention boosts neural responses to predicted and unpredicted stimuli

Predictive coding posits that the human brain continually monitors the environment for regularities and detects inconsistencies. It is unclear, however, what effect attention has on expectation processes, as there have been relatively few studies and the results of these have yielded contradictory findings. Here, we employed Bayesian model comparison to adjudicate between two alternative computational models. The Opposition model states that attention boosts neural responses equally to predicted and unpredicted stimuli, whereas the Interaction model assumes that attentional boosting of neural signals depends on the level of predictability. We designed a novel, audiospatial attention task that orthogonally manipulated attention and prediction by playing oddball sequences in either the attended or unattended ear. We observed sensory prediction error responses, with electroencephalography, across all attentional manipulations. Crucially, posterior probability maps revealed that, overall, the Opposition model better explained scalp and source data, suggesting that attention boosts responses to predicted and unpredicted stimuli equally. Furthermore, Dynamic Causal Modelling (DCM) showed that these Opposition effects were expressed in plastic changes within the mismatch negativity network. Our findings provide empirical evidence for a computational model of the opposing interplay of attention and expectation in the brain.

neuroscience↗