Modeling center-surround configurations in population receptive fields using fMRI

Antagonistic center-surround configurations are a central organizational principle of our visual system. In visual cortex, stimulation outside the classical receptive field can decrease neural activity and also decrease functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) signal amplitudes. Decreased fMRI amplitudes below baseline-0% contrast-are often referred to as "negative" responses. Using neural model-based fMRI data analyses, we can estimate the region of visual space to which each cortical location responds, i.e., the population receptive field (pRF). Current models of the pRF do not account for a center-surround organization or negative fMRI responses. Here, we extend the pRF model by adding surround suppression. Where the conventional model uses a circular symmetric Gaussian function to describe the pRF, the new model uses a circular symmetric difference-of-Gaussians (DoG) function. The DoG model allows the pRF analysis to capture fMRI signals below baseline and surround suppression. Comparing the fits of the models, an increased variance explained is found for the DoG model. This improvement was predominantly present in V1/2/3 and decreased in later visual areas. The improvement of the fits was particularly striking in the parts of the fMRI signal below baseline. Estimates for the surround size of the pRF show an increase with eccentricity and over visual areas V1/2/3. For the suppression index, which is based on the ratio between the volumes of both Gaussians, we show a decrease over visual areas V1 and V2. Using non-invasive fMRI techniques, this method gives the possibility to examine assumptions about center-surround receptive fields in human subjects.