Estimating the dimensionality of neural responses with fMRI Repetition Suppression

TL;DR

This paper introduces a new fMRI-based method using Repetition Suppression to estimate the neural response dimensionality, revealing functional differences in brain areas involved in multi-stream integration.

Contribution

The novel method leverages RS-fMRI to measure neural response dimensionality even without discernible average BOLD signals, enabling functional characterization of cortical circuits.

Findings

High dimensionality in multi-stream integration areas

Low dimensionality in non-interacting input areas

Method allows functional mapping of neural circuit integration

Abstract

We propose a novel method that exploits fMRI Repetition Suppression (RS-fMRI) to measure the dimensionality of the set response vectors, i.e. the dimension of the space of linear combinations of neural population activity patterns in response to specific task conditions. RS-fMRI measures the overlap between response vectors even in brain areas displaying no discernible average differential BOLD signal. We show how this property can be used to estimate the neural response dimensionality in areas lacking macroscopic spatial patterning. The importance of dimensionality derives from how it relates to a neural circuit's functionality. As we show, the dimensionality of the response vectors is predicted to be high in areas involved in multi-stream integration, while it is low in areas where inputs from independent sources do not interact or merely overlap linearly. Our method can be used to identify and functionally characterize cortical circuits that integrate multiple independent information pathways.