Figure 2. Network interplay involved in visual processing.

This diagram depicts the physiological interplay of networks that control visual processing. Upon physiological stimulation, the visual inputs from the retina reach the primary visual cortex through activation of the first-order thalamic nuclei. The dorsal (DAN) and ventral (VAN) networks integrate visual signals from the primary cortex and, in concert with salience network (SN), select the more significant peripheral stimuli. The DMN integrates inputs from the hippocampus and amygdala and contributes to shaping visual processing by integrating emotion- or memory-enriched introspective information. The high-order thalamic nuclei modulate cortical network activity via a negative feedback mechanism. The overall net input of these activities converges on the prefrontal cortex (PFC) that manages cognitive representation of salient stimuli. The model envisions that the activity of the SN is complementary to the DMN. The SN is a key checkpoint for anticorrelating activities of the DMN and the task-positive fronto-parietal network, thereby controlling the appropriateness of the responses given to salient stimuli. Altered engagement of the SN promotes decoupling of the DMN from the fronto-parietal network and offers a functional substrate for the onset of psychosis.

Abbreviations: dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, dACC; Default Mode Network, DMN; Dorsal attention network, DAN; prefrontal cortex, PFC; hippocampus, HP; inferior temporal, IT; Ventral attention network, VAN; salience network, SN.