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Sulpizio V, Teghil A, Pitzalis S, Boccia M. Common and specific activations supporting optic flow processing and navigation as revealed by a meta-analysis of neuroimaging studies. Brain Struct Funct 2024; 229:1021-1045. [PMID: 38592557 PMCID: PMC11147901 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-024-02790-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2023] [Accepted: 03/12/2024] [Indexed: 04/10/2024]
Abstract
Optic flow provides useful information in service of spatial navigation. However, whether brain networks supporting these two functions overlap is still unclear. Here we used Activation Likelihood Estimation (ALE) to assess the correspondence between brain correlates of optic flow processing and spatial navigation and their specific neural activations. Since computational and connectivity evidence suggests that visual input from optic flow provides information mainly during egocentric navigation, we further tested the correspondence between brain correlates of optic flow processing and that of both egocentric and allocentric navigation. Optic flow processing shared activation with egocentric (but not allocentric) navigation in the anterior precuneus, suggesting its role in providing information about self-motion, as derived from the analysis of optic flow, in service of egocentric navigation. We further documented that optic flow perception and navigation are partially segregated into two functional and anatomical networks, i.e., the dorsal and the ventromedial networks. Present results point to a dynamic interplay between the dorsal and ventral visual pathways aimed at coordinating visually guided navigation in the environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valentina Sulpizio
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy
- Department of Humanities, Education and Social Sciences, University of Molise, Campobasso, Italy
| | - Alice Teghil
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy
- Department of Cognitive and Motor Rehabilitation and Neuroimaging, Santa Lucia Foundation (IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia), Rome, Italy
| | - Sabrina Pitzalis
- Department of Cognitive and Motor Rehabilitation and Neuroimaging, Santa Lucia Foundation (IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia), Rome, Italy
- Department of Movement, Human and Health Sciences, University of Rome ''Foro Italico'', Rome, Italy
| | - Maddalena Boccia
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy.
- Department of Cognitive and Motor Rehabilitation and Neuroimaging, Santa Lucia Foundation (IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia), Rome, Italy.
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2
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Fattori P, De Vitis M, Filippini M, Vaccari FE, Diomedi S, Gamberini M, Galletti C. Visual sensitivity at the service of action control in posterior parietal cortex. Front Physiol 2024; 15:1408010. [PMID: 38841208 PMCID: PMC11151461 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2024.1408010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2024] [Accepted: 04/22/2024] [Indexed: 06/07/2024] Open
Abstract
The posterior parietal cortex (PPC) serves as a crucial hub for the integration of sensory with motor cues related to voluntary actions. Visual input is used in different ways along the dorsomedial and the dorsolateral visual pathways. Here we focus on the dorsomedial pathway and recognize a visual representation at the service of action control. Employing different experimental paradigms applied to behaving monkeys while single neural activity is recorded from the medial PPC (area V6A), we show how plastic visual representation can be, matching the different contexts in which the same object is proposed. We also present data on the exchange between vision and arm actions and highlight how this rich interplay can be used to weight different sensory inputs in order to monitor and correct arm actions online. Indeed, neural activity during reaching or reach-to-grasp actions can be excited or inhibited by visual information, suggesting that the visual perception of action, rather than object recognition, is the most effective factor for area V6A. Also, three-dimensional object shape is encoded dynamically by the neural population, according to the behavioral context of the monkey. Along this line, mirror neuron discharges in V6A indicate the plasticity of visual representation of the graspable objects, that changes according to the context and peaks when the object is the target of one's own action. In other words, object encoding in V6A is a visual encoding for action.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrizia Fattori
- Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Marina De Vitis
- Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Matteo Filippini
- Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | | | - Stefano Diomedi
- Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
- Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies (ISTC), National Research Council (CNR), Padova, Italy
| | - Michela Gamberini
- Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Claudio Galletti
- Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
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3
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Warman A, Clark A, Malcolm GL, Havekost M, Rossit S. Is there a lower visual field advantage for object affordances? A registered report. Q J Exp Psychol (Hove) 2024:17470218241230812. [PMID: 38279528 DOI: 10.1177/17470218241230812] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/28/2024]
Abstract
It's been repeatedly shown that pictures of graspable objects can facilitate visual processing, even in the absence of reach-to-grasp actions, an effect often attributed to the concept of affordances. A classic demonstration of this is the handle compatibility effect, characterised by faster reaction times when the orientation of a graspable object's handle is compatible with the hand used to respond, even when the handle orientation is task-irrelevant. Nevertheless, it is debated whether the speeded reaction times are a result of affordances or spatial compatibility. First, we investigated whether we could replicate the handle compatibility effect while controlling for spatial compatibility. Participants (N = 68) responded with left or right-handed keypresses to whether the object was upright or inverted and, in separate blocks, whether the object was red or green. We failed to replicate the handle compatibility effect, with no significant difference between compatible and incompatible conditions, in both tasks. Second, we investigated whether there is a lower visual field (VF) advantage for the handle compatibility effect in line with what has been found for hand actions. A further 68 participants responded to object orientation presented either in the upper or lower VF. A significant handle compatibility effect was observed in the lower VF, but not the upper VF. This suggests that there is a lower VF advantage for affordances, possibly as the lower VF is where our actions most frequently occur. However, future studies should explore the impact of eye movements on the handle compatibility effect and tool affordances.
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Affiliation(s)
- Annie Warman
- School of Psychology, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK
| | - Allan Clark
- Norwich Medical School, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK
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4
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Sulpizio V, Fattori P, Pitzalis S, Galletti C. Functional organization of the caudal part of the human superior parietal lobule. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2023; 153:105357. [PMID: 37572972 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105357] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2023] [Revised: 07/31/2023] [Accepted: 08/09/2023] [Indexed: 08/14/2023]
Abstract
Like in macaque, the caudal portion of the human superior parietal lobule (SPL) plays a key role in a series of perceptive, visuomotor and somatosensory processes. Here, we review the functional properties of three separate portions of the caudal SPL, i.e., the posterior parieto-occipital sulcus (POs), the anterior POs, and the anterior part of the caudal SPL. We propose that the posterior POs is mainly dedicated to the analysis of visual motion cues useful for object motion detection during self-motion and for spatial navigation, while the more anterior parts are implicated in visuomotor control of limb actions. The anterior POs is mainly involved in using the spotlight of attention to guide reach-to-grasp hand movements, especially in dynamic environments. The anterior part of the caudal SPL plays a central role in visually guided locomotion, being implicated in controlling leg-related movements as well as the four limbs interaction with the environment, and in encoding egomotion-compatible optic flow. Together, these functions reveal how the caudal SPL is strongly implicated in skilled visually-guided behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valentina Sulpizio
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy; Department of Cognitive and Motor Rehabilitation and Neuroimaging, Santa Lucia Foundation (IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia), Rome, Italy.
| | - Patrizia Fattori
- Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Sabrina Pitzalis
- Department of Cognitive and Motor Rehabilitation and Neuroimaging, Santa Lucia Foundation (IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia), Rome, Italy; Department of Movement, Human and Health Sciences, University of Rome ''Foro Italico'', Rome, Italy
| | - Claudio Galletti
- Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
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5
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Mineiro J, Buckingham G. O hand, where art thou? Mapping hand location across the visual field during common activities. Exp Brain Res 2023; 241:1227-1239. [PMID: 36961553 PMCID: PMC10130124 DOI: 10.1007/s00221-023-06597-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2022] [Accepted: 03/09/2023] [Indexed: 03/25/2023]
Abstract
Humans employ visually-guided actions during a myriad of daily activities. These ubiquitous but precise manual actions rely on synergistic work between eye and hand movements. During this close cooperation between hands and eyes, the hands persist in sight in a way which is unevenly distributed across our visual field. One common assertion is that most hand actions occur in the lower visual field (LVF) because the arms are anatomically lower than the head, and objects typically rest on waist-high table surfaces. While experimental work has shown that humans are more efficient at reaching for and grasping targets located below their visual midline (Goodale and Danckert, Exp Brain Res 137:303-308, 2001), there is almost no empirical data detailing where the hands lie in the visual fields during natural hand actions. To build a comprehensive picture of hand location during natural visually guided manual actions, we analyzed data from a large-scale open-access dataset containing 100 h of non-scripted manual object interactions during domestic kitchen tasks filmed from a head-mounted camera. We found a clear vertical visual asymmetry with hands located in the lower visual scene (LVS) in more than 70% of image frames, particularly in ipsilateral space. These findings provide the first direct evidence for the established assumption that hands spend more time in the lower than in the upper visual field (UVF). Further work is required to determine whether this LVF asymmetry differs across the lifespan, in different professions, and in clinical populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joao Mineiro
- Department of Public Health and Sports Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK.
| | - Gavin Buckingham
- Department of Public Health and Sports Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
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6
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Rolls ET, Deco G, Huang CC, Feng J. The human posterior parietal cortex: effective connectome, and its relation to function. Cereb Cortex 2023; 33:3142-3170. [PMID: 35834902 PMCID: PMC10401905 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhac266] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2022] [Revised: 06/10/2022] [Accepted: 06/11/2022] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
The effective connectivity between 21 regions in the human posterior parietal cortex, and 360 cortical regions was measured in 171 Human Connectome Project (HCP) participants using the HCP atlas, and complemented with functional connectivity and diffusion tractography. Intraparietal areas LIP, VIP, MIP, and AIP have connectivity from early cortical visual regions, and to visuomotor regions such as the frontal eye fields, consistent with functions in eye saccades and tracking. Five superior parietal area 7 regions receive from similar areas and from the intraparietal areas, but also receive somatosensory inputs and connect with premotor areas including area 6, consistent with functions in performing actions to reach for, grasp, and manipulate objects. In the anterior inferior parietal cortex, PFop, PFt, and PFcm are mainly somatosensory, and PF in addition receives visuo-motor and visual object information, and is implicated in multimodal shape and body image representations. In the posterior inferior parietal cortex, PFm and PGs combine visuo-motor, visual object, and reward input and connect with the hippocampal system. PGi in addition provides a route to motion-related superior temporal sulcus regions involved in social interactions. PGp has connectivity with intraparietal regions involved in coordinate transforms and may be involved in idiothetic update of hippocampal visual scene representations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Edmund T Rolls
- Oxford Centre for Computational Neuroscience, Oxford, United Kingdom
- Department of Computer Science, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, United Kingdom
- Institute of Science and Technology for Brain Inspired Intelligence, Fudan University, Shanghai 200403, China
| | - Gustavo Deco
- Computational Neuroscience Group, Department of Information and Communication Technologies, Center for Brain and Cognition, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Roc Boronat 138, Barcelona 08018, Spain
- Brain and Cognition, Pompeu Fabra University, Barcelona 08018, Spain
- Institució Catalana de la Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA), Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Passeig Lluís Companys 23, Barcelona 08010, Spain
| | - Chu-Chung Huang
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Brain Functional Genomics (Ministry of Education), School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, Institute of Brain and Education Innovation, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200602, China
- Shanghai Center for Brain Science and Brain-Inspired Technology, Shanghai 200602, China
| | - Jianfeng Feng
- Department of Computer Science, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, United Kingdom
- Institute of Science and Technology for Brain Inspired Intelligence, Fudan University, Shanghai 200403, China
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7
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Bencivenga F, Tullo MG, Maltempo T, von Gal A, Serra C, Pitzalis S, Galati G. Effector-selective modulation of the effective connectivity within frontoparietal circuits during visuomotor tasks. Cereb Cortex 2023; 33:2517-2538. [PMID: 35709758 PMCID: PMC10016057 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhac223] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2021] [Revised: 05/05/2022] [Accepted: 05/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite extensive research, the functional architecture of the subregions of the dorsal posterior parietal cortex (PPC) involved in sensorimotor processing is far from clear. Here, we draw a thorough picture of the large-scale functional organization of the PPC to disentangle the fronto-parietal networks mediating visuomotor functions. To this aim, we reanalyzed available human functional magnetic resonance imaging data collected during the execution of saccades, hand, and foot pointing, and we combined individual surface-based activation, resting-state functional connectivity, and effective connectivity analyses. We described a functional distinction between a more lateral region in the posterior intraparietal sulcus (lpIPS), preferring saccades over pointing and coupled with the frontal eye fields (FEF) at rest, and a more medial portion (mpIPS) intrinsically correlated to the dorsal premotor cortex (PMd). Dynamic causal modeling revealed feedforward-feedback loops linking lpIPS with FEF during saccades and mpIPS with PMd during pointing, with substantial differences between hand and foot. Despite an intrinsic specialization of the action-specific fronto-parietal networks, our study reveals that their functioning is finely regulated according to the effector to be used, being the dynamic interactions within those networks differently modulated when carrying out a similar movement (i.e. pointing) but with distinct effectors (i.e. hand and foot).
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Affiliation(s)
- Federica Bencivenga
- Corresponding author: Department of Psychology, “Sapienza” University of Rome, Via dei Marsi 78, 00185 Rome, Italy.
| | | | - Teresa Maltempo
- Cognitive and Motor Rehabilitation and Neuroimaging Unit, Santa Lucia Foundation (IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia), Via Ardeatina 306/354, 00179 Roma, Italy
- Department of Movement, Human and Health Sciences, University of Rome “Foro Italico”, Piazza Lauro De Bosis 15, 00135 Roma, Italy
| | - Alessandro von Gal
- Brain Imaging Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Sapienza University, Via dei Marsi 78, 00185 Roma, Italy
- PhD program in Behavioral Neuroscience, Sapienza University of Rome, Via dei Marsi 78, 00185 Roma, Italy
| | - Chiara Serra
- Department of Movement, Human and Health Sciences, University of Rome “Foro Italico”, Piazza Lauro De Bosis 15, 00135 Roma, Italy
| | - Sabrina Pitzalis
- Cognitive and Motor Rehabilitation and Neuroimaging Unit, Santa Lucia Foundation (IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia), Via Ardeatina 306/354, 00179 Roma, Italy
- Department of Movement, Human and Health Sciences, University of Rome “Foro Italico”, Piazza Lauro De Bosis 15, 00135 Roma, Italy
| | - Gaspare Galati
- Brain Imaging Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Sapienza University, Via dei Marsi 78, 00185 Roma, Italy
- Cognitive and Motor Rehabilitation and Neuroimaging Unit, Santa Lucia Foundation (IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia), Via Ardeatina 306/354, 00179 Roma, Italy
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8
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Cardelli L, Tullo MG, Galati G, Sulpizio V. Effect of optic flow on spatial updating: insight from an immersive virtual reality study. Exp Brain Res 2023; 241:865-874. [PMID: 36781456 DOI: 10.1007/s00221-023-06567-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2022] [Accepted: 02/03/2023] [Indexed: 02/15/2023]
Abstract
Self-motion information is required to keep track of where we are with respect to our environment (spatial updating). Visual signals such as optic flow are relevant to provide information about self-motion, especially in the absence of vestibular and/or proprioceptive cues generated by physical movement. However, the role of optic flow on spatial updating is still debated. A virtual reality system based on a head-mounted display was used to allow participants to experience a self-motion sensation within a naturalistic environment in the absence of physical movement. We asked participants to keep track of spatial positions of a target during simulated self-motion while manipulating the availability of optic flow coming from the lower part of the environment (ground plane). In each trial, the ground could be a green lawn (optic flow ON) or covered in snow (optic flow OFF). We observed that the lack of optic flow on the ground had a detrimental effect on spatial updating. Furthermore, we explored the interaction between the optic flow availability and different characteristics of self-motion: we observed that increasing self-motion speed had a detrimental effect on spatial updating, especially in the absence of optic flow, while self-motion direction (leftward, forward, rightward) and path (translational and curvilinear) had no statically significant effect. Overall, we demonstrated that, in the absence of some idiothetic cues, the optic flow provided by the ground has a dominant role for the self-motion estimation and, hence, for the ability to update the spatial relationships between one's position and the position of the surrounding objects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lisa Cardelli
- Brain Imaging Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Sapienza University, Via Dei Marsi 78, 00185, Rome, Italy
| | - Maria Giulia Tullo
- Brain Imaging Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Sapienza University, Via Dei Marsi 78, 00185, Rome, Italy.,Department of Translational and Precision Medicine, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy
| | - Gaspare Galati
- Brain Imaging Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Sapienza University, Via Dei Marsi 78, 00185, Rome, Italy.,Department of Cognitive and Motor Rehabilitation and Neuroimaging, Santa Lucia Foundation (IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia), Rome, Italy
| | - Valentina Sulpizio
- Brain Imaging Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Sapienza University, Via Dei Marsi 78, 00185, Rome, Italy. .,Department of Cognitive and Motor Rehabilitation and Neuroimaging, Santa Lucia Foundation (IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia), Rome, Italy.
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9
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Sulpizio V, Strappini F, Fattori P, Galati G, Galletti C, Pecchinenda A, Pitzalis S. The human middle temporal cortex responds to both active leg movements and egomotion-compatible visual motion. Brain Struct Funct 2022; 227:2573-2592. [PMID: 35963915 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-022-02549-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2021] [Accepted: 08/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
The human middle-temporal region MT+ is highly specialized in processing visual motion. However, recent studies have shown that this region is modulated by extraretinal signals, suggesting a possible involvement in processing motion information also from non-visual modalities. Here, we used functional MRI data to investigate the influence of retinal and extraretinal signals on MT+ in a large sample of subjects. Moreover, we used resting-state functional MRI to assess how the subdivisions of MT+ (i.e., MST, FST, MT, and V4t) are functionally connected. We first compared responses in MST, FST, MT, and V4t to coherent vs. random visual motion. We found that only MST and FST were positively activated by coherent motion. Furthermore, regional analyses revealed that MST and FST were positively activated by leg, but not arm, movements, while MT and V4t were deactivated by arm, but not leg, movements. Taken together, regional analyses revealed a visuomotor role for the anterior areas MST and FST and a pure visual role for the anterior areas MT and V4t. These findings were mirrored by the pattern of functional connections between these areas and the rest of the brain. Visual and visuomotor regions showed distinct patterns of functional connectivity, with the latter preferentially connected with the somatosensory and motor areas representing leg and foot. Overall, these findings reveal a functional sensitivity for coherent visual motion and lower-limb movements in MST and FST, suggesting their possible involvement in integrating sensory and motor information to perform locomotion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valentina Sulpizio
- Brain Imaging Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy
- Department of Cognitive and Motor Rehabilitation and Neuroimaging, Santa Lucia Foundation (IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia), Rome, Italy
| | | | - Patrizia Fattori
- Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Gaspare Galati
- Brain Imaging Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy
- Department of Cognitive and Motor Rehabilitation and Neuroimaging, Santa Lucia Foundation (IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia), Rome, Italy
| | - Claudio Galletti
- Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | | | - Sabrina Pitzalis
- Department of Cognitive and Motor Rehabilitation and Neuroimaging, Santa Lucia Foundation (IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia), Rome, Italy.
- Department of Movement, Human and Health Sciences, University of Rome ''Foro Italico'', 00194, Rome, Italy.
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10
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Egomotion-related visual areas respond to goal-directed movements. Brain Struct Funct 2022; 227:2313-2328. [PMID: 35763171 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-022-02523-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2021] [Accepted: 06/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
Integration of proprioceptive signals from the various effectors with visual feedback of self-motion from the retina is necessary for whole-body movement and locomotion. Here, we tested whether the human visual motion areas involved in processing optic flow signals simulating self-motion are also activated by goal-directed movements (as saccades or pointing) performed with different effectors (eye, hand, and foot), suggesting a role in visually guiding movements through the external environment. To achieve this aim, we used a combined approach of task-evoked activity and effective connectivity (PsychoPhysiological Interaction, PPI) by fMRI. We localized a set of six egomotion-responsive visual areas through the flow field stimulus and distinguished them into visual (pIPS/V3A, V6+ , IPSmot/VIP) and visuomotor (pCi, CSv, PIC) areas according to recent literature. We tested their response to a visuomotor task implying spatially directed delayed eye, hand, and foot movements. We observed a posterior-to-anterior gradient of preference for eye-to-foot movements, with posterior (visual) regions showing a preference for saccades, and anterior (visuomotor) regions showing a preference for foot pointing. No region showed a clear preference for hand pointing. Effective connectivity analysis showed that visual areas were more connected to each other with respect to the visuomotor areas, particularly during saccades. We suggest that visual and visuomotor egomotion regions can play different roles within a network that integrates sensory-motor signals with the aim of guiding movements in the external environment.
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11
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Smith AT. Cortical visual area CSv as a cingulate motor area: a sensorimotor interface for the control of locomotion. Brain Struct Funct 2021; 226:2931-2950. [PMID: 34240236 PMCID: PMC8541968 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-021-02325-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2021] [Accepted: 06/17/2021] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
The response properties, connectivity and function of the cingulate sulcus visual area (CSv) are reviewed. Cortical area CSv has been identified in both human and macaque brains. It has similar response properties and connectivity in the two species. It is situated bilaterally in the cingulate sulcus close to an established group of medial motor/premotor areas. It has strong connectivity with these areas, particularly the cingulate motor areas and the supplementary motor area, suggesting that it is involved in motor control. CSv is active during visual stimulation but only if that stimulation is indicative of self-motion. It is also active during vestibular stimulation and connectivity data suggest that it receives proprioceptive input. Connectivity with topographically organized somatosensory and motor regions strongly emphasizes the legs over the arms. Together these properties suggest that CSv provides a key interface between the sensory and motor systems in the control of locomotion. It is likely that its role involves online control and adjustment of ongoing locomotory movements, including obstacle avoidance and maintaining the intended trajectory. It is proposed that CSv is best seen as part of the cingulate motor complex. In the human case, a modification of the influential scheme of Picard and Strick (Picard and Strick, Cereb Cortex 6:342-353, 1996) is proposed to reflect this.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew T Smith
- Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, TW20 0EX, UK.
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12
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Di Marco S, Sulpizio V, Bellagamba M, Fattori P, Galati G, Galletti C, Lappe M, Maltempo T, Pitzalis S. Multisensory integration in cortical regions responding to locomotion-related visual and somatomotor signals. Neuroimage 2021; 244:118581. [PMID: 34543763 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.118581] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2021] [Revised: 09/08/2021] [Accepted: 09/14/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
During real-world locomotion, in order to be able to move along a path or avoid an obstacle, continuous changes in self-motion direction (i.e. heading) are needed. Control of heading changes during locomotion requires the integration of multiple signals (i.e., visual, somatomotor, vestibular). Recent fMRI studies have shown that both somatomotor areas (human PEc [hPEc], human PE [hPE], primary somatosensory cortex [S-I]) and egomotion visual regions (cingulate sulcus visual area [CSv], posterior cingulate area [pCi], posterior insular cortex [PIC]) respond to either leg movements and egomotion-compatible visual stimulations, suggesting a role in the analysis of both visual attributes of egomotion and somatomotor signals with the aim of guiding locomotion. However, whether these regions are able to integrate egomotion-related visual signals with somatomotor inputs coming from leg movements during heading changes remains an open question. Here we used a combined approach of individual functional localizers and task-evoked activity by fMRI. In thirty subjects we first localized three egomotion areas (CSv, pCi, PIC) and three somatomotor regions (S-I, hPE, hPEc). Then, we tested their responses in a multisensory integration experiment combining visual and somatomotor signals relevant to locomotion in congruent or incongruent trials. We used an fMR-adaptation paradigm to explore the sensitivity to the repeated presentation of these bimodal stimuli in the six regions of interest. Results revealed that hPE, S-I and CSv showed an adaptation effect regardless of congruency, while PIC, pCi and hPEc showed sensitivity to congruency. PIC exhibited a preference for congruent trials compared to incongruent trials. Areas pCi and hPEc exhibited an adaptation effect only for congruent and incongruent trials, respectively. PIC, pCi and hPEc sensitivity to the congruency relationship between visual (locomotion-compatible) cues and (leg-related) somatomotor inputs suggests that these regions are involved in multisensory integration processes, likely in order to guide/adjust leg movements during heading changes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Di Marco
- Department of Psychology, "Sapienza" University of Rome, Rome, Italy; Department of Cognitive and Motor Rehabilitation and Neuroimaging, Santa Lucia Foundation (IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia), Rome, Italy.
| | - Valentina Sulpizio
- Department of Psychology, "Sapienza" University of Rome, Rome, Italy; Department of Cognitive and Motor Rehabilitation and Neuroimaging, Santa Lucia Foundation (IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia), Rome, Italy
| | - Martina Bellagamba
- Department of Cognitive and Motor Rehabilitation and Neuroimaging, Santa Lucia Foundation (IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia), Rome, Italy; Department of Movement, Human and Health Sciences, University of Rome ''Foro Italico'', Rome, Italy
| | - Patrizia Fattori
- Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Gaspare Galati
- Department of Psychology, "Sapienza" University of Rome, Rome, Italy; Department of Cognitive and Motor Rehabilitation and Neuroimaging, Santa Lucia Foundation (IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia), Rome, Italy
| | - Claudio Galletti
- Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Markus Lappe
- Institute for Psychology, University of Muenster, Muenster, Germany; Otto Creutzfeldt Center for Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Muenster, Muenster, Germany
| | - Teresa Maltempo
- Department of Cognitive and Motor Rehabilitation and Neuroimaging, Santa Lucia Foundation (IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia), Rome, Italy; Department of Movement, Human and Health Sciences, University of Rome ''Foro Italico'', Rome, Italy
| | - Sabrina Pitzalis
- Department of Cognitive and Motor Rehabilitation and Neuroimaging, Santa Lucia Foundation (IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia), Rome, Italy; Department of Movement, Human and Health Sciences, University of Rome ''Foro Italico'', Rome, Italy
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Takemura H, Rosa MGP. Understanding structure-function relationships in the mammalian visual system: part one. Brain Struct Funct 2021; 226:2741-2744. [PMID: 34652532 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-021-02406-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Hiromasa Takemura
- Division of Sensory and Cognitive Brain Mapping, Department of System Neuroscience, National Institute for Physiological Sciences, Okazaki, Japan.
- Department of Physiological Sciences, School of Life Sciences, SOKENDAI (The Graduate University of Advanced Studies), Hayama, Japan.
- Center for Information and Neural Networks (CiNet), Advanced ICT Research Institute, National Institute of Information and Communications Technology, Suita, Japan.
- Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences, Osaka University, Suita, Japan.
| | - Marcello G P Rosa
- Neuroscience Program, Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, 3800, Australia.
- Department of Physiology, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, 3800, Australia.
- Australian Research Council, Centre of Excellence for Integrative Brain Function, Monash University Node, Melbourne, VIC, 3800, Australia.
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Pratviel Y, Deschodt-Arsac V, Larrue F, Arsac LM. Fast Hand Movements Unveil Multifractal Roots of Adaptation in the Visuomotor Cognitive System. Front Physiol 2021; 12:713076. [PMID: 34354603 PMCID: PMC8330832 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2021.713076] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2021] [Accepted: 06/30/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Beyond apparent simplicity, visuomotor dexterity actually requires the coordination of multiple interactions across a complex system that links the brain, the body and the environment. Recent research suggests that a better understanding of how perceptive, cognitive and motor activities cohere to form executive control could be gained from multifractal formalisms applied to movement behavior. Rather than a central executive "talking" to encapsuled components, the multifractal intuition suggests that eye-hand coordination arises from multiplicative cascade dynamics across temporal scales of activity within the whole system, which is reflected in movement time series. Here we examined hand movements of sport students performing a visuomotor task in virtual reality (VR). The task involved hitting spatially arranged targets that lit up on a virtual board under critical time pressure. Three conditions were compared where the visual search field changed: whole board (Standard), half-board lower view field (LVF) and upper view field (UVF). Densely sampled (90 Hz) time series of hand motions captured by VR controllers were analyzed by a focus-based multifractal detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA). Multiplicative rather than additive interactions across temporal scales were evidenced by testing comparatively phase-randomized surrogates of experimental series, which confirmed nonlinear processes. As main results, it was demonstrated that: (i) the degree of multifractality in hand motion behavior was minimal in LVF, a familiar visual search field where subjects correlatively reached their best visuomotor response times (RTs); (ii) multifractality increased in the less familiar UVF, but interestingly only for the non-dominant hand; and (iii) multifractality increased further in Standard, for both hands indifferently; in Standard, the maximal expansion of the visual search field imposed the highest demand as evidenced by the worst visuomotor RTs. Our observations advocate for visuomotor dexterity best described by multiplicative cascades dynamics and a system-wide distributed control rather than a central executive. More importantly, multifractal metrics obtained from hand movements behavior, beyond the confines of the brain, offer a window on the fine organization of control architecture, with high sensitivity to hand-related control behavior under specific constraints. Appealing applications may be found in movement learning/rehabilitation, e.g., in hemineglect people, stroke patients, maturing children or athletes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yvan Pratviel
- Laboratoire IMS, CNRS, UMR 5218, Université de Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France.,CATIE, Centre Aquitain des Technologies de l'Information et Electroniques, Talence, France
| | | | - Florian Larrue
- CATIE, Centre Aquitain des Technologies de l'Information et Electroniques, Talence, France
| | - Laurent M Arsac
- Laboratoire IMS, CNRS, UMR 5218, Université de Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France
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