Attention selectively enhances collision sensitivity in the superficial SC, PBGN and centromedial amygdala to looming stimuli in the upper visual field
4 affiliations
- 1State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Science and Mental Health, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- 2Aier Academy of Ophthalmology, Central South University, Changsha, China
- 3School of Stomatology and Ophthalmology, Xianning Medical College, Hubei University of Science and Technology, Xianning, China
- 4University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Abstract
Accurate detection of impending collisions is essential for survival. While multiple subcortical pathways have been implicated in the detection of looming stimuli, the roles of top-down attention and conscious awareness in this process remain unclear. Using high-resolution fMRI, we investigated how top-down attention and conscious awareness influence subcortical processing of approaching objects on collision versus near-miss trajectories. In healthy participants, the superficial layers of the superior colliculus (SCs), the parabigeminal nucleus (PBGN), and the centromedial amygdala (CMA) exhibited significantly stronger activation to hit-nasion than to near-miss trajectories in the upper visual field, but only when participants attended to the approaching object. Correlation and path analysis of collision sensitivity and beta-series functional connectivity consistently revealed a significant SC-PBGN connection. For stimuli presented in the blind visual field of hemianopic patients, significant functional connectivity was observed between the SC and both the pulvinar and the ventral tegmental area (VTA) in response to collision trajectories. Together, these findings suggest that attention selectively enhances collision sensitivity in the SCs-PBGN-CMA pathway for accurate detection of collision trajectory in the upper visual field, whereas the SC-pulvinar and SC-VTA pathways are associated with collision detection in the absence of conscious awareness.
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BibTeX
@article{zou2026attention,
title = {{Attention selectively enhances collision sensitivity in the superficial SC, PBGN and centromedial amygdala to looming stimuli in the upper visual field}},
author = {Jinyou Zou and Ye Wang and Chencan Qian and Peng Zhang},
journal = {Imaging Neuroscience},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1162/imag.a.1432},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1162/imag.a.1432},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Attention selectively enhances collision sensitivity in the superficial SC, PBGN and centromedial amygdala to looming stimuli in the upper visual field
AU - Jinyou Zou
AU - Ye Wang
AU - Chencan Qian
AU - Peng Zhang
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/29
JO - Imaging Neuroscience
DO - 10.1162/imag.a.1432
UR - https://doi.org/10.1162/imag.a.1432
AB - Accurate detection of impending collisions is essential for survival. While multiple subcortical pathways have been implicated in the detection of looming stimuli, the roles of top-down attention and conscious awareness in this process remain unclear. Using high-resolution fMRI, we investigated how top-down attention and conscious awareness influence subcortical processing of approaching objects on collision versus near-miss trajectories. In healthy participants, the superficial layers of the superior colliculus (SCs), the parabigeminal nucleus (PBGN), and the centromedial amygdala (CMA) exhibited significantly stronger activation to hit-nasion than to near-miss trajectories in the upper visual field, but only when participants attended to the approaching object. Correlation and path analysis of collision sensitivity and beta-series functional connectivity consistently revealed a significant SC-PBGN connection. For stimuli presented in the blind visual field of hemianopic patients, significant functional connectivity was observed between the SC and both the pulvinar and the ventral tegmental area (VTA) in response to collision trajectories. Together, these findings suggest that attention selectively enhances collision sensitivity in the SCs-PBGN-CMA pathway for accurate detection of collision trajectory in the upper visual field, whereas the SC-pulvinar and SC-VTA pathways are associated with collision detection in the absence of conscious awareness.
SN - 2837-6056
ER -