The superficial layers of the primary visual cortex create a saliency map that feeds forward to the parietal cortex.

Abstract

A salient visual object with a distinct feature from the surrounding environment automatically captures attention. While the saliency signals have been found in many brain regions, their source remains highly controversial. Here, we investigated the neural origin of visual saliency using cortical layer-dependent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) of cerebral blood volume (CBV) at 7 Tesla. Behaviorally, human observers were better at detecting salient foreground bars with a larger orientation contrast from uniformly oriented background bars. Saliency-sensitive signals were strongest in the superficial layers of the primary visual cortex (V1) and in the middle layers of the intraparietal sulcus (IPS) of the parietal cortex. Layer-dependent effective connectivity revealed the transmission of saliency signals along the feedforward pathway from V1 to IPS. Furthermore, behavioral sensitivity to the foreground stimulus correlated significantly with the fMRI response in the superficial layers of V1. Our findings provide mesoscale evidence that a visual saliency map is created by iso-feature suppression through lateral inhibition in the superficial layers of V1, and then feeds forward to attentional control brain regions to guide attention and eye movements.