@article{e75f5e336afa4752881665e5e0422903,
title = "Task-related hemodynamic responses in human early visual cortex are modulated by task difficulty and behavioral performance",
abstract = "Early visual cortex exhibits widespread hemodynamic responses in the absence of visual stimulation, which are entrained to the timing of a task and not predicted by local spiking or local field potential. Such task-related responses (TRRs) covary with reward magnitude and physiological signatures of arousal. It is unknown, however, if TRRs change on a trial-to-trial basis according to behavioral performance and task difficulty. If so, this would suggest that TRRs reflect arousal on a trial-to-trial timescale and covary with critical task and behavioral variables. We measured functional magnetic resonance imaging blood-oxygen-level-dependent (fMRI-BOLD) responses in the early visual cortex of human observers performing an orientation discrimination task consisting of separate easy and hard runs of trials. Stimuli were presented in a small portion of one hemifield, but the fMRI response was measured in the ipsilateral hemisphere, far from the stimulus representation and focus of spatial attention. TRRs scaled in amplitude with task difficulty, behavioral accuracy, reaction time, and lapses across trials. These modulations were not explained by the influence of respiration, cardiac activity, or head movement on the fMRI signal. Similar modulations with task difficulty and behavior were observed in pupil size. These results suggest that TRRs reflect arousal and behavior on the timescale of individual trials.",
author = "Burlingham, {Charlie S.} and Minyoung Ryoo and Roth, {Zvi N.} and Saghar Mirbagheri and Heeger, {David J.} and Merriam, {Elisha P.}",
note = "Funding Information: Thanks to Aniruddha Das and Jonathan Winawer for their comments on the manuscript and Tobias Donner for helpful discussion. This research was supported by National Eye Institute grant R01EY025330 (to D.J.H.), the National Eye Institute Visual Neuroscience Training Grant, T32-EY007136 (to C.S.B. through NYU), and the National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship (to C.S.B.), and by the Intramural Research Program of the National Institutes of Health (ZIA-MH-002966)-National Institute of Mental Health Clinical Study Protocol 93 M-0170, NCT00001360. Funding Funder Grant reference number Author National Eye Institute R01-EY025330 David J Heeger National Institute of Mental Health ZIA MH002966 Elisha P Merriam National Eye Institute T32-EY007136 Charlie S Burlingham National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship Charlie S Burlingham The funders had no role in study design, data collection and interpretation, or the decision to submit the work for publication. Funding Information: Thanks to Aniruddha Das and Jonathan Winawer for their comments on the manuscript and Tobias Donner for helpful discussion. This research was supported by National Eye Institute grant R01-EY025330 (to D.J.H.), the National Eye Institute Visual Neuroscience Training Grant, T32-EY007136 (to C.S.B. through NYU), and the National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship (to C.S.B.), and by the Intramural Research Program of the National Institutes of Health (ZIA-MH-002966) -National Institute of Mental Health Clinical Study Protocol 93 M-0170, NCT00001360. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} Burlingham et al.",
year = "2022",
month = apr,
doi = "10.7554/eLife.73018",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "11",
journal = "eLife",
issn = "2050-084X",
publisher = "eLife Sciences Publications",
}