Gain neuromodulation mediates perceptual switches: evidence from pupillometry, fMRI, and RNN Modelling

Gain neuromodulation mediates perceptual switches: evidence from pupillometry, fMRI, and RNN Modelling | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Gain neuromodulation mediates perceptual switches: evidence from pupillometry, fMRI, and RNN Modelling Gabriel Wainstein, Christopher Whyte, Kaylena Ehgoetz Martens, and 7 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-2356429/v5 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 5 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Show more versions Abstract Perceptual updating has been proposed to rely upon evolving activity within a recurrent, distributed thalamocortical network whose interconnections are modulated by bursts of ascending neuromodulatory neurotransmitters, such as noradrenaline. To test this hypothesis mechanistically, we leveraged a combination of pupillometry, fMRI and recurrent neural network modelling of an ambiguous figures task. Qualitative shifts in the perceptual interpretation of an ambiguous image were associated with peaks in pupil diameter, an indirect readout of phasic bursts in neuromodulatory tone. We hypothesized that increases in neuromodulatory tone led to neural gain alteration so as to causally mediate perceptual switches. To test this hypothesis, we trained a recurrent neural network to perform an analogous perceptual categorisation task, and then manipulated the gain of the RNN to mimic the effect of neuromodulatory tone. As predicted, we observed an earlier perceptual shift as a function of heightened gain. Leveraging a low-dimensional readout of the RNN dynamics, we developed two novel predictions: perceptual switches should co-occur with peaks in low-dimensional brain state velocity and with flattened energy landscape dynamics. We used dimensionality-reduced summaries of whole-brain fMRI dynamics to independently confirm each of these predictions. These results support the role of the neuromodulatory system in the large-scale network reconfigurations that mediate abrupt changes in perception. Biological sciences/Neuroscience/Cognitive neuroscience/Perception Biological sciences/Neuroscience/Computational neuroscience/Dynamical systems Biological sciences/Neuroscience/Computational neuroscience/Network models Biological sciences/Neuroscience/Cognitive neuroscience/Attention Full Text Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Supplementary Files SupplementaryMaterials.pdf Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 5 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Show more versions Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. 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