Motion Coherence and Luminance Contrast Interact in Driving Visual Gamma-Band Activity

Synchronized neuronal population activity in the gamma-frequency range (> 30 Hz) correlates with the bottom-up drive of various visual features. It has been hypothesized that gamma-band synchronization enhances the gain of neuronal representations, yet evidence remains sparse. We tested a critical prediction of the gain hypothesis, which is that features that drive synchronized gamma-band activity interact super-linearly. To test this prediction, we employed whole-head magnetencephalography (MEG) in human subjects and investigated if the strength of visual motion (motion coherence) and luminance contrast interact in driving gamma-band activity in visual cortex. We found that gamma-band activity (64 to 128 Hz) monotonically increased with coherence and contrast while lower frequency activity (8 to 32 Hz) decreased with both features. Furthermore, as predicted for a gain mechanism, we found a multiplicative interaction between motion coherence and contrast in their joint drive of gamma-band activity. The lower frequency activity did not show such an interaction. Our findings provide evidence, that gamma-band activity acts as a cortical gain mechanism that nonlinearly combines the bottom-up drive of different visual features in support of visually guided behavior.