Topic: task-specific output networks

Feedforward sensory processing in the brain is generally construed as proceeding through a hierarchy of layers, each constructing increasingly abstract and invariant representations of sensory inputs. This interpretation is at odds with the observation that activity in sensory processing layers is heavily modulated by contextual signals, such as cross modal information or internal mental states. While it is tempting to assume that such modulations bias the feedforward processing pathway towards detection of relevant input features given a context, this induces a dependence on the contextual st