Topic: selective routing

Neural information processing in dynamic, natural environments requires the brain to flexibly allocate limited computational resources to varying task demands. One example is selective attention in the visual system, which allows to preferentially route signals from behaviourally relevant stimuli to downstream visual areas, while suppressing irrelevant visual information. It is an open question which neural mechanisms realize selective routing, and how this process is controlled. Here we propose that spontaneous synchronization in recurrent networks is the key mechanism for selective processin

Neuronal activity in the primate superior colliculus (SC) is modulated by physical salience, reward value, and attention, but how these signals are integrated remains unknown. One hypothesis is that SC activity reflects a unified “priority map” of the visual field. However, it is unclear how a unified priority map might support distinct roles for SC activity in different contexts: If the same SC neurons are activated by saccade cues and attention cues, how can SC activity evoke a saccade in one context but covert orienting of attention in another context? We hypothesized that distinct sources