RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Cortical excitability controls the strength of mental imagery
JF bioRxiv
FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SP 093690
DO 10.1101/093690
A1 Rebecca Keogh
A1 Johanna Bergmann
A1 Joel Pearson
YR 2016
UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2016/12/14/093690.abstract
AB Mental imagery provides an essential simulation tool for remembering the past and planning the future, and its strength affects both cognition and mental health. Research suggests that neural activity spanning prefrontal, parietal, temporal, and visual areas supports the generation of mental images. However, exactly how this network controls the strength of visual imagery remains unknown. Here, brain imaging and transcranial magnetic phosphene data show that lower resting activity and excitability levels in visual cortex (V1-V3), but higher levels in prefrontal cortex, predict stronger sensory imagery. Unlike visual perception, electrically decreasing visual cortex excitability increases imagery strength, while the inverse pattern emerged for prefrontal cortex. These data suggest a neurophysiological mechanism of network cortical excitability that controls the strength of mental images.