Selective biasing of a specific bistable-figure percept involves fMRI signal changes in frontostriatal circuits: a step toward unlocking the neural correlates of top-down control and self-regulation.

Attention, suggestion, context and expectation can all exert top-down influence on bottom-up processes (e.g., stimulus-driven mechanisms). Identifying the functional neuroanatomy that subserves top-down influences on sensory information processing can unlock the neural substrates of how suggestion can modulate behavior. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we scanned 10 healthy participants (five men) viewing five bistable figures. Participants received a directional cue to perceive a particular spatial orientation a few seconds before the bistable figure appeared. After presentation, participants pressed a button to indicate their locking into the one desired orientation of the two possible interpretations. Participants additionally performed tests of impulse control and sustained attention. Our findings reveal the role of specific frontostriatal structures in selecting a particular orientation for bistable figures, including dorsolateral prefrontal regions and the putamen. Additional contrasts further bolstered the role of the frontostriatal system in the top-down processing of competing visual perceptions. Separate correlations of behavioral variables with fMRI activations support the idea that the frontostriatal system may mediate attentional control when selecting among competing visual perceptions. These results may generalize to other psychological functions. With special relevance to clinical neuroscience and applications involving attention, expectation and suggestion (e.g., hypnosis), our results address the importance of frontostriatal circuitry in behavioral modulation.