Relative precision of top-down attentional modulations is lower in early visual cortex compared to mid- and high-level visual areas.

Top-down spatial attention enhances cortical representations of behaviorally relevant visual information and increases the precision of perceptual reports. However, little is known about the relative precision of top-down attentional modulations in different visual areas, especially compared with the highly precise stimulus-driven responses that are observed in early visual cortex. For example, the precision of attentional modulations in early visual areas may be limited by the relatively coarse spatial selectivity and the anatomical connectivity of the areas in prefrontal cortex that generate and relay the top-down signals. Here, we used functional MRI (fMRI) and human participants to assess the precision of bottom-up spatial representations evoked by high-contrast stimuli across the visual hierarchy. Then, we examined the relative precision of top-down attentional modulations in the absence of spatially specific bottom-up drive. Whereas V1 showed the largest relative difference between the precision of top-down attentional modulations and the precision of bottom-up modulations, midlevel areas such as V4 showed relatively smaller differences between the precision of top-down and bottom-up modulations. Overall, this interaction between visual areas (e.g., V1 vs. V4) and the relative precision of top-down and bottom-up modulations suggests that the precision of top-down attentional modulations is limited by the representational fidelity of areas that generate and relay top-down feedback signals.NEW & NOTEWORTHY When the relative precision of purely top-down and bottom-up signals were compared across visual areas, early visual areas like V1 showed higher bottom-up precision compared with top-down precision. In contrast, midlevel areas showed similar levels of top-down and bottom-up precision. This result suggests that the precision of top-down attentional modulations may be limited by the relatively coarse spatial selectivity and the anatomical connectivity of the areas generating and relaying the signals.