Midbrain structure prepares for sights and touch before they occur, study finds

A study from MIT and Northeastern University in Nature Neuroscience found that the superior colliculus anticipates visual and tactile stimuli before they arrive. In 80 adults scanned with 7-T fMRI at roughly 1 mm resolution, the same layer-specific activity appeared during anticipation as during actual stimulation.

• 80 participants were scanned with 7-T fMRI at about 1 mm resolution
• Vision activated superficial layers of the superior colliculus, touch the deeper layers
• The same pattern appeared before stimuli, while people anticipated an image or pressure
• Predictive signals also showed up in two sensory regions of the thalamus