April 21, 2017　　16:00 〜 17:30

CiNet 1F Conference Room

Ryohei Nakayama

Department of Life Sciences
The University of Tokyo

Host : Kaoru Amano (PI)

Abstract:

Recent evidences reveal that sensory information is processed only periodically and integrated into conscious perception across the temporal diversity of cortical representations. How does the visual system accomplish the subjectively smooth transitions across perceptual moments? To address this issue, we analyzed a novel illusion in which a single Gabor pattern is made to appear temporally discrete. This discretization depends on the difference in speed between window and grating in the head-centered coordinate, but the apparent rhythm is constant at 4-6 Hz regardless of the stimulus speed. This rhythmic percept is found to be correlated with the reduction of theta-band neural oscillatory activities over a wide region around the occipital cortex. These results suggest that theta-rhythmic periodical neural process, involved in the periodical function of attention to bind perceptual attributes and locations, underlies the continuity of visual perception.