Distinct mitochondrial phenotypes align with visual and semantic representations across human cortex

Cortical regions differ in the information they represent, but whether this functional specialization is accompanied by corresponding differences in cellular and molecular organization remains unknown. Here, we combined precision 7T fMRI, image-to-brain encoding models, a recently developed human mitochondrial atlas, and cortical transcriptomics to test whether visual and semantic representations occupy distinct molecular environments. Across two independent combinations of visual and semantic feature models, variance uniquely attributable to visual information was negatively associated with both mitochondrial density and mitochondria-specific respiratory capacity. In contrast, variance uniquely attributable to semantic information was positively associated with mitochondrial density but showed no reliable association with respiratory capacity. Genome-wide transcriptomic analyses revealed convergent differences in mitochondrial and broader cellular programs associated with the two representational axes. These findings establish a cross-scale correspondence between the information represented by human cortex and its regional energetic and molecular architecture.