What is a population receptive field?

A population receptive field (pRF) is a quantitative model of the cumulative response of the population of cells contained within a single fMRI voxel [1]. The pRF model can be used to estimate the response properties of populations of neurons using other measures, such as EcOG and EEG [2].

The pRF model allows us to interpret and predict the responses of a voxel to different stimuli. Such models can be designed to describe various sensory [3] and cognitive [4] processes. More recently, we have used the pRF model to map the retinotopic organization of multiple subcortical nuclei [5].

Below are parameter maps detailing the response properties of the human lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN). The model parameter estimates are overlaid on the PD image for the left and right LGN. Separate subjects are shown in A and B. Columns illustrate the polar angle, eccentricity, pRF size, and HRF delay estimates. A, anterior; P, posterior.

alternate text

References

[1]Dumoulin S, and Wandell BA (2008). Population receptive field estimates in human visual cortex. Neuroimage 39: 647-60.
[2]Winawer J and Wandell BA (2015). Computational neuroimaging and population receptive fields. Trends in Cognitive Sciences 19: 349-357.
[3]Thomas JM, Huber E, Stecker E, Boynton G, Saenz M, Fine I (2014) Population receptive field estimates in human auditory cortex. NeuroImage 105: 428-439.
[4]Harvey BM, Klein BP, Petridou N, Dumoulin SO (2013) Topographic organization of numerosity in the human parietal cortex. Science 341: 1123-1126.
[5]DeSimone K, Viviano JD, Schneider KA (2015) Population receptive field estimation reveals two new maps in human subcortex. Journal of Neuroscience 35: 9836-9847.