Invited Session V: GABAergic function and dysfunction in visual perception: Visual suppression and inhibition are not the same thing

Visual suppression is an experimental finding of a reduction in behavioral performance or a reduction in neural response that occurs when a visual stimulus is surrounded by other visual stimuli. This reduction is typically attributed to neural inhibition. Understanding the link between visual suppression and neural inhibition is important because suppression is frequently used to infer the integrity of inhibitory neural circuits in conditions such as autism, schizophrenia, depression, ageing, and others. Using pharmacology, spectroscopy, fMRI, and computational modeling, I will discuss evidence from our lab that questions whether neural inhibition is the main contributor to visual suppression.