Low-Dimensional Frontal Feedback Resolves High-Dimensional Visual Ambiguity in Human Visual Cortex

Low-Dimensional Frontal Feedback Resolves High-Dimensional Visual Ambiguity in Human Visual Cortex | 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 Article Low-Dimensional Frontal Feedback Resolves High-Dimensional Visual Ambiguity in Human Visual Cortex Jia Liu, Yiyuan Zhang, jirui liu This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9179287/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract One major distinction between artificial neural networks and biological brains is the prevalence of extensive, long-range feedback connections in biological systems. Here we investigate unique contributions of these hierarchical feedback signals beyond feedforward processing and local recurrence by exploring their mechanistic role in resolving visual ambiguity caused by occlusion. Both empirical fMRI and EEG experiments and computational modeling show that when sensory evidence for faces became insufficient, the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (vlPFC) sustained a low-dimensional belief state (e.g., animate vs. inanimate objects) and transmitted this abstract information back to the animacy map in the ventral temporal cortex (VTC) encompassing face-selective representations. Critically, in the hierarchical vision model inspired by this finding, this frontal feedback did not reshape the attractor geometry of the VTC; instead, it provided guidance to reroute ongoing neural dynamics away from ambiguous pseudo-states toward face attractor basins in the energy representational landscape. This control-based mechanism of feedback signals thus enabled perceptual completion by reconstructing missing facial features with temporal costs verified through EEG. Together, this multimodal study bridges analysis-by-synthesis theories of vision and dynamical-systems perspectives on long-range feedback as state-space control, and offers inspiration for the design of hierarchical AI architectures incorporating feedforward, recurrent, and feedback connections. Biological sciences/Neuroscience/Cognitive neuroscience/Perception Biological sciences/Neuroscience/Cognitive neuroscience/Intelligence Visual Occlusion Ventral Temporal Cortex Frontal Cortex Hierarchical Visual System Neural Attractors Predictive Coding Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version 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. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9179287","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":616935658,"identity":"524ddd1e-7ab6-4565-840c-907eda488eee","order_by":0,"name":"Jia Liu","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAABCUlEQVRIie2RP0vDQBTAXzm4LNGuJ4L9Ci8Iuvhh7pG9FApOtQSEG7MX9DtkknZLCTRLsGuLS4qrYlxEUcSXdumSs2Oh9+Px/sD78Q4OwOHYQ44FAGoADV5U5zoY36LIjcLhZ7sqm8KKCtfdDornY68c/HRx+ZZVq/FNF/O0Vb4a6Fw2PsxH1DPs41MoFRV5HwstgnsDwSSyKRIpYQXIzChJtTw9MqAxtSm/rCwzUa2Veel9/6uQYWUhQJEZcKOlsCuyhxSf06gIL1hJabRY3Z7cPaogaVDa7ewh+Pw4ozifPr9/mSHF83BavVxfdZqu1Idwa+D/hFbESTXuM6LcGoa2TYfD4ThQ/gDcVV5BUzAm9gAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0383-0934","institution":"Tsinghua University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Jia","middleName":"","lastName":"Liu","suffix":""},{"id":616935659,"identity":"01269beb-7b13-443a-beea-b1199e144d78","order_by":1,"name":"Yiyuan Zhang","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Tsinghua University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Yiyuan","middleName":"","lastName":"Zhang","suffix":""},{"id":616935660,"identity":"ae88ed6d-0040-448b-af39-edf4ed886b25","order_by":2,"name":"jirui liu","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Tsinghua University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"jirui","middleName":"","lastName":"liu","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-03-20 13:21:29","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9179287/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9179287/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":108493393,"identity":"b95a6639-48da-4666-8e95-126ad1b64de3","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-05-05 10:00:13","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1652629,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"Article File","description":"","filename":"LowDimensionalFrontalFeedbackResolvesHighDimensionalVisualAmbiguityinHumanVisualCortex.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9179287/v1_covered_d35e8877-a07c-4dc9-9eda-e711c2d44963.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"There is \u003cb\u003eNO\u003c/b\u003e Competing Interest.","formattedTitle":"Low-Dimensional Frontal Feedback Resolves High-Dimensional Visual Ambiguity in Human Visual Cortex","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"nature-portfolio","isNatureJournal":true,"hasQc":false,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"Nature Portfolio","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":false,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"ejp","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"Visual Occlusion, Ventral Temporal Cortex, Frontal Cortex, Hierarchical Visual System, Neural Attractors, Predictive Coding","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9179287/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9179287/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"One major distinction between artificial neural networks and biological brains is the prevalence of extensive, long-range feedback connections in biological systems. Here we investigate unique contributions of these hierarchical feedback signals beyond feedforward processing and local recurrence by exploring their mechanistic role in resolving visual ambiguity caused by occlusion. Both empirical fMRI and EEG experiments and computational modeling show that when sensory evidence for faces became insufficient, the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (vlPFC) sustained a low-dimensional belief state (e.g., animate vs. inanimate objects) and transmitted this abstract information back to the animacy map in the ventral temporal cortex (VTC) encompassing face-selective representations. Critically, in the hierarchical vision model inspired by this finding, this frontal feedback did not reshape the attractor geometry of the VTC; instead, it provided guidance to reroute ongoing neural dynamics away from ambiguous pseudo-states toward face attractor basins in the energy representational landscape. This control-based mechanism of feedback signals thus enabled perceptual completion by reconstructing missing facial features with temporal costs verified through EEG. Together, this multimodal study bridges analysis-by-synthesis theories of vision and dynamical-systems perspectives on long-range feedback as state-space control, and offers inspiration for the design of hierarchical AI architectures incorporating feedforward, recurrent, and feedback connections.","manuscriptTitle":"Low-Dimensional Frontal Feedback Resolves High-Dimensional Visual Ambiguity in Human Visual Cortex","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-05-04 11:18:57","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9179287/v1","editorialEvents":[],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"nature-communications","isNatureJournal":true,"hasQc":false,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"NCOMMS","sideBox":"Learn more about [Nature Communications](http://www.nature.com/ncomms/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"https://mts-ncomms.nature.com/","title":"Nature Communications","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"ejp","reportingPortfolio":"Nature Communications","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"c4a1ee38-4726-4e77-80e2-a24d28ece53c","owner":[],"postedDate":"May 4th, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"under-review","subjectAreas":[{"id":65655348,"name":"Biological sciences/Neuroscience/Cognitive neuroscience/Perception"},{"id":65655349,"name":"Biological sciences/Neuroscience/Cognitive neuroscience/Intelligence"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-05-04T11:18:57+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-05-04 11:18:57","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-9179287","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-9179287","identity":"rs-9179287","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}