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Poster Session A: Tuesday, August 12, 1:30 – 4:30 pm, de Brug & E‑Hall

Rhythmic interactions between early visual areas and prefrontal cortex predict bistable perception

Yanni Zhang¹, Biao Han¹, Qi Chen, Lu Shen; ¹South China Normal University

Presenter: Yanni Zhang

Visual perception integrates external stimuli with the brain’s intrinsic dynamics, particularly under ambiguity. Predictive processing posits that hierarchical oscillations act as dynamic priors to resolve uncertainty, yet how cross-regional signals are temporally coordinated remains unknown. To address it, we combined the bistable Ternus paradigm—eliciting element motion (EM) or group motion (GM), depending on the observer's internal state—with intracranial EEG (iEEG) in six patients to explore prefrontal-visual oscillatory dynamics. We found that prestimulus alpha phase in early visual areas (V1-V3) and theta phase in prefrontal cortex (PFC) predicted perceptual outcomes. Directed connectivity analyses revealed stronger low-frequency (2-8 Hz) coupling from PFC to visual regions during EM percept, indicating top-down predictive signaling. These findings suggest that coordinated pre-activated dynamics between early visual areas and the PFC play a critical role in shaping perceptual outcomes, offering insights into how intrinsic neural processes influence conscious visual perception.

Topic Area: Brain Networks & Neural Dynamics

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