From Flat to Round: Redefining Brain Decoding with Surface-Based fMRI and Cortex Structure
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Abstract (arXiv)
Reconstructing visual stimuli from human brain activity (e.g., fMRI) bridges neuroscience and computer vision by decoding neural representations. However, existing methods often overlook critical brain structure-function relationships, flattening spatial information and neglecting individual anatomical variations. To address these issues, we propose (1) a novel sphere tokenizer that explicitly models fMRI signals as spatially coherent 2D spherical data on the cortical surface; (2) integration of structural MRI (sMRI) data, enabling personalized encoding of individual anatomical variations; and (3) a positive-sample mixup strategy for efficiently leveraging multiple fMRI scans associated with the same visual stimulus. Collectively, these innovations enhance reconstruction accuracy, biological interpretability, and generalizability across individuals. Experiments demonstrate superior reconstruction performance compared to SOTA methods, highlighting the effectiveness and interpretability of our biologically informed approach.
Key facts. Cited by 2 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026). Builds on 33 of its 53 references that are in the map. First posted on arXiv 22 Jul 2025.
Builds on
33 of 53 references.
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21 more
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Citing papers per year: 2025: 1; 2026: 1.
2 papers.