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Zhao B, Liu Y, Wang Z, Zhang Q, Bai X. Long-Term Bridge Training Induces Functional Plasticity Changes in the Brain of Early-Adult Individuals. Behav Sci (Basel) 2024; 14:469. [PMID: 38920802 PMCID: PMC11200855 DOI: 10.3390/bs14060469] [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: 04/11/2024] [Revised: 05/17/2024] [Accepted: 05/29/2024] [Indexed: 06/27/2024] Open
Abstract
The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of extended bridge expertise on rapid perceptual processing and brain functional plasticity in early adulthood, utilizing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). In this investigation, we compared 6 high-level college bridge players with 25 college students lacking bridge experience, assessing their intelligence and working memory. Additionally, we scrutinized behavioral performance and whole-brain activation patterns during an image perceptual judgment task. Findings indicated significant group and interaction effects at the behavioral level. Bridge players exhibited prolonged reaction times and enhanced accuracy on card tasks. At the neural level, the activation level of bridge players in the occipital lobe exceeded that of ordinary college students, with more pronounced group effects in the motor area and inferior parietal lobule during card tasks. This implies that bridge expertise in early adulthood induces functional plasticity changes in regions associated with visual processing and automated mathematical computation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bingjie Zhao
- Key Research Base of Humanities and Social Sciences of the Ministry of Education, Academy of Psychology and Behavior, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin 300387, China
- Faculty of Psychology, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin 300387, China
| | - Yan Liu
- Institute of Sports Science, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin 300387, China
| | - Zheng Wang
- Inner Mongolia Mental Health Center, Brain Hospital of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Hohhot 010000, China
- School of Psychology, Inner Mongolia Normal University, Hohhot 010000, China
| | - Qihan Zhang
- Key Research Base of Humanities and Social Sciences of the Ministry of Education, Academy of Psychology and Behavior, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin 300387, China
- Faculty of Psychology, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin 300387, China
| | - Xuejun Bai
- Key Research Base of Humanities and Social Sciences of the Ministry of Education, Academy of Psychology and Behavior, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin 300387, China
- Faculty of Psychology, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin 300387, China
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Su J, Zhang X, Zhang Z, Wang H, Wu J, Shi G, Jin C, Dong M. Real-World Visual Experience Alters Baseline Brain Activity in the Resting State: A Longitudinal Study Using Expertise Model of Radiologists. Front Neurosci 2022; 16:904623. [PMID: 35712457 PMCID: PMC9195622 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2022.904623] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2022] [Accepted: 04/25/2022] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Visual experience modulates the intensity of evoked brain activity in response to training-related stimuli. Spontaneous fluctuations in the restful brain actively encode previous learning experience. However, few studies have considered how real-world visual experience alters the level of baseline brain activity in the resting state. This study aimed to investigate how short-term real-world visual experience modulates baseline neuronal activity in the resting state using the amplitude of low-frequency (<0.08 Hz) fluctuation (ALFF) and a visual expertise model of radiologists, who possess fine-level visual discrimination skill of homogeneous stimuli. In detail, a group of intern radiologists (n = 32) were recruited. The resting-state fMRI data and the behavioral data regarding their level of visual expertise in radiology and face recognition were collected before and after 1 month of training in the X-ray department in a local hospital. A machine learning analytical method, i.e., support vector machine, was used to identify subtle changes in the level of baseline brain activity. Our method led to a superb classification accuracy of 86.7% between conditions. The brain regions with highest discriminative power were the bilateral cingulate gyrus, the left superior frontal gyrus, the bilateral precentral gyrus, the bilateral superior parietal lobule, and the bilateral precuneus. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to investigate baseline neurodynamic alterations in response to real-world visual experience using longitudinal experimental design. These results suggest that real-world visual experience alters the resting-state brain representation in multidimensional neurobehavioral components, which are closely interrelated with high-order cognitive and low-order visual factors, i.e., attention control, working memory, memory, and visual processing. We propose that our findings are likely to help foster new insights into the neural mechanisms of visual expertise.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiaxi Su
- Engineering Research Center of Molecular and Neuro Imaging of Ministry of Education, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Xidian University, Xi’an, China
- Xi’an Key Laboratory of Intelligent Sensing and Regulation of Trans-Scale Life Information, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Xidian University, Xi’an, China
| | - Xiaoyan Zhang
- Engineering Research Center of Molecular and Neuro Imaging of Ministry of Education, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Xidian University, Xi’an, China
- Xi’an Key Laboratory of Intelligent Sensing and Regulation of Trans-Scale Life Information, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Xidian University, Xi’an, China
| | - Ziyuan Zhang
- Engineering Research Center of Molecular and Neuro Imaging of Ministry of Education, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Xidian University, Xi’an, China
- Xi’an Key Laboratory of Intelligent Sensing and Regulation of Trans-Scale Life Information, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Xidian University, Xi’an, China
| | - Hongmei Wang
- Department of Medical Imaging, First Affiliated Hospital of Medical College, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, China
| | - Jia Wu
- School of Foreign Languages, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an, China
| | - Guangming Shi
- Key Laboratory of Intelligent Perception and Image Understanding of Ministry of Education, School of Artificial Intelligence, Xidian University, Xi’an, China
| | - Chenwang Jin
- Department of Medical Imaging, First Affiliated Hospital of Medical College, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, China
| | - Minghao Dong
- Engineering Research Center of Molecular and Neuro Imaging of Ministry of Education, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Xidian University, Xi’an, China
- Xi’an Key Laboratory of Intelligent Sensing and Regulation of Trans-Scale Life Information, School of Life Sciences and Technology, Xidian University, Xi’an, China
- Key Laboratory of Intelligent Perception and Image Understanding of Ministry of Education, School of Artificial Intelligence, Xidian University, Xi’an, China
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P-curving the fusiform face area: Meta-analyses support the expertise hypothesis. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2019; 104:209-221. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.07.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2018] [Revised: 06/30/2019] [Accepted: 07/01/2019] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
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Yu Y, Yan LF, Sun Q, Hu B, Zhang J, Yang Y, Dai YJ, Cui WX, Xiu SJ, Hu YC, Heng CN, Liu QQ, Hou JF, Pan YY, Zhai LH, Han TH, Cui GB, Wang W. Neurovascular decoupling in type 2 diabetes mellitus without mild cognitive impairment: Potential biomarker for early cognitive impairment. Neuroimage 2019; 200:644-658. [PMID: 31252056 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.06.058] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2019] [Revised: 06/22/2019] [Accepted: 06/24/2019] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a significant risk factor for mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and the acceleration of MCI to dementia. The high glucose level induce disturbance of neurovascular (NV) coupling is suggested to be one potential mechanism, however, the neuroimaging evidence is still lacking. To assess the NV decoupling pattern in early diabetic status, 33 T2DM without MCI patients and 33 healthy control subjects were prospectively enrolled. Then, they underwent resting state functional MRI and arterial spin labeling imaging to explore the hub-based networks and to estimate the coupling of voxel-wise cerebral blood flow (CBF)-degree centrality (DC), CBF-mean amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (mALFF) and CBF- mean regional homogeneity (mReHo). We further evaluated the relationship between NV coupling pattern and cognitive performance (false discovery rate corrected). T2DM without MCI patients displayed significant decrease in the absolute CBF-mALFF, CBF-mReHo coupling of CBFnetwork and in the CBF-DC coupling of DCnetwork. Besides, networks which involved CBF and DC hubs mainly located in the default mode network (DMN). Furthermore, less severe disease and better cognitive performance in T2DM patients were significantly correlated with higher coupling of CBF-DC, CBF-mALFF or CBF-mReHo, especially for the cognitive dimensions of general function and executive function. Thus, coupling of CBF-DC, CBF-mALFF and CBF-mReHo may serve as promising indicators to reflect NV coupling state and to explain the T2DM related early cognitive impairment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ying Yu
- Department of Radiology & Functional and Molecular Imaging Key Lab of Shaanxi Province, Tangdu Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University (Air Force Medical University), 569 Xinsi Road, Xi'an, 710038, Shaanxi, China.
| | - Lin-Feng Yan
- Department of Radiology & Functional and Molecular Imaging Key Lab of Shaanxi Province, Tangdu Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University (Air Force Medical University), 569 Xinsi Road, Xi'an, 710038, Shaanxi, China.
| | - Qian Sun
- Department of Radiology & Functional and Molecular Imaging Key Lab of Shaanxi Province, Tangdu Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University (Air Force Medical University), 569 Xinsi Road, Xi'an, 710038, Shaanxi, China.
| | - Bo Hu
- Department of Radiology & Functional and Molecular Imaging Key Lab of Shaanxi Province, Tangdu Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University (Air Force Medical University), 569 Xinsi Road, Xi'an, 710038, Shaanxi, China.
| | - Jin Zhang
- Department of Radiology & Functional and Molecular Imaging Key Lab of Shaanxi Province, Tangdu Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University (Air Force Medical University), 569 Xinsi Road, Xi'an, 710038, Shaanxi, China.
| | - Yang Yang
- Department of Radiology & Functional and Molecular Imaging Key Lab of Shaanxi Province, Tangdu Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University (Air Force Medical University), 569 Xinsi Road, Xi'an, 710038, Shaanxi, China.
| | - Yu-Jie Dai
- Department of Clinical Nutrition, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University (Air Force Medical University), 15 West Changle Road, Xi'an, 710032, Shaanxi, China.
| | - Wu-Xun Cui
- Department of Radiology & Functional and Molecular Imaging Key Lab of Shaanxi Province, Tangdu Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University (Air Force Medical University), 569 Xinsi Road, Xi'an, 710038, Shaanxi, China.
| | - Si-Jie Xiu
- Department of Radiology & Functional and Molecular Imaging Key Lab of Shaanxi Province, Tangdu Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University (Air Force Medical University), 569 Xinsi Road, Xi'an, 710038, Shaanxi, China.
| | - Yu-Chuan Hu
- Department of Radiology & Functional and Molecular Imaging Key Lab of Shaanxi Province, Tangdu Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University (Air Force Medical University), 569 Xinsi Road, Xi'an, 710038, Shaanxi, China.
| | - Chun-Ni Heng
- Department of Endocrinology, Tangdu Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University (Air Force Medical University), 569 Xinsi Road, Xi'an, 710038, Shaanxi, China.
| | - Qing-Quan Liu
- Department of Endocrinology, Tangdu Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University (Air Force Medical University), 569 Xinsi Road, Xi'an, 710038, Shaanxi, China.
| | - Jun-Feng Hou
- Department of Endocrinology, Tangdu Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University (Air Force Medical University), 569 Xinsi Road, Xi'an, 710038, Shaanxi, China.
| | - Yu-Yun Pan
- Student Brigade, Fourth Military Medical University (Air Force Medical University), 169 Changle Road, Xi'an, 710032, Shaanxi, China.
| | - Liang-Hao Zhai
- Student Brigade, Fourth Military Medical University (Air Force Medical University), 169 Changle Road, Xi'an, 710032, Shaanxi, China.
| | - Teng-Hui Han
- Student Brigade, Fourth Military Medical University (Air Force Medical University), 169 Changle Road, Xi'an, 710032, Shaanxi, China.
| | - Guang-Bin Cui
- Department of Radiology & Functional and Molecular Imaging Key Lab of Shaanxi Province, Tangdu Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University (Air Force Medical University), 569 Xinsi Road, Xi'an, 710038, Shaanxi, China.
| | - Wen Wang
- Department of Radiology & Functional and Molecular Imaging Key Lab of Shaanxi Province, Tangdu Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University (Air Force Medical University), 569 Xinsi Road, Xi'an, 710038, Shaanxi, China.
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Brunyé TT, Nallamothu BK, Elmore JG. Eye-tracking for assessing medical image interpretation: A pilot feasibility study comparing novice vs expert cardiologists. PERSPECTIVES ON MEDICAL EDUCATION 2019; 8:65-73. [PMID: 30977060 PMCID: PMC6468026 DOI: 10.1007/s40037-019-0505-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION As specialized medical professionals such as radiologists, pathologists, and cardiologists gain education and experience, their diagnostic efficiency and accuracy change, and they show altered eye movement patterns during medical image interpretation. Existing research in this area is limited to interpretation of static medical images, such as digitized whole slide biopsies, making it difficult to understand how expertise development might manifest during dynamic image interpretation, such as with angiograms or volumetric scans. METHODS A two-group (novice, expert) comparative pilot study examined the feasibility and utility of tracking and interpreting eye movement patterns while cardiologists viewed video-based coronary angiograms. A non-invasive eye tracking system recorded cardiologists' (n = 8) visual behaviour while they viewed and diagnosed a series of eight angiogram videos. Analyses assessed frame-by-frame video navigation behaviour, eye fixation behaviour, and resulting diagnostic decision making. RESULTS Relative to novices, expert cardiologists demonstrated shorter and less variable video review times, fewer eye fixations and saccadic eye movements, and less time spent paused on individual video frames. Novices showed repeated eye fixations on critical image frames and regions, though these were not predictive of accurate diagnostic decisions. DISCUSSION These preliminary results demonstrate interpretive decision errors among novices, suggesting they identify and process critical diagnostic features, but sometimes fail to accurately interpret those features. Results also showcase the feasibility of tracking and understanding eye movements during video-based coronary angiogram interpretation and suggest that eye tracking may be valuable for informing assessments of competency progression during medical education and training.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tad T. Brunyé
- Center for Applied Brain & Cognitive Sciences, Tufts University, Medford, MA USA
| | | | - Joann G. Elmore
- Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA USA
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Gunderman RB, Patel P. Perception's Crucial Role in Radiology Education. Acad Radiol 2019; 26:141-143. [PMID: 30190228 DOI: 10.1016/j.acra.2018.08.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2018] [Accepted: 08/14/2018] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Richard B Gunderman
- Indiana University School of Medicine, 702 North Barnhill Drive, Room 1053, Indianapolis, IN 46202.
| | - Parth Patel
- Indiana University School of Medicine, 702 North Barnhill Drive, Room 1053, Indianapolis, IN 46202
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Martens F, Bulthé J, van Vliet C, Op de Beeck H. Domain-general and domain-specific neural changes underlying visual expertise. Neuroimage 2018; 169:80-93. [PMID: 29223739 PMCID: PMC5864513 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2017.12.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2017] [Revised: 11/07/2017] [Accepted: 12/05/2017] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Visual expertise induces changes in neural processing for many different domains of expertise. However, it is unclear how expertise effects for different domains of expertise are related. In the present fMRI study, we combine large-scale univariate and multi-voxel analyses to contrast the expertise-related neural changes associated with two different domains of expertise, bird expertise (ornithology) and mineral expertise (mineralogy). Results indicated distributed expertise-related neural changes, with effects for both domains of expertise in high-level visual cortex and effects for bird expertise even extending to low-level visual regions and the frontal lobe. Importantly, a multivariate generalization analysis showed that effects in high-level visual cortex were specific to the domain of expertise. In contrast, the neural changes in the frontal lobe relating to expertise showed significant generalization, signaling the presence of domain-independent expertise effects. In conclusion, expertise is related to a combination of domain-specific and domain-general changes in neural processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Farah Martens
- Brain and Cognition, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Leuven (KU Leuven), Belgium.
| | - Jessica Bulthé
- Brain and Cognition, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Leuven (KU Leuven), Belgium
| | - Christine van Vliet
- Brain and Cognition, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Leuven (KU Leuven), Belgium
| | - Hans Op de Beeck
- Brain and Cognition, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Leuven (KU Leuven), Belgium.
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Rennig J, Cornelsen S, Wilhelm H, Himmelbach M, Karnath HO. Preserved Expert Object Recognition in a Case of Visual Hemiagnosia. J Cogn Neurosci 2018; 30:131-143. [DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_01193] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
We examined a stroke patient (HWS) with a unilateral lesion of the right medial ventral visual stream, involving the right fusiform and parahippocampal gyri. In a number of object recognition tests with lateralized presentations of target stimuli, HWS showed significant symptoms of hemiagnosia with contralesional recognition deficits for everyday objects. We further explored the patient's capacities of visual expertise that were acquired before the current perceptual impairment became effective. We confronted him with objects he was an expert for already before stroke onset and compared this performance with the recognition of familiar everyday objects. HWS was able to identify significantly more of the specific (“expert”) than of the everyday objects on the affected contralesional side. This observation of better expert object recognition in visual hemiagnosia allows for several interpretations. The results may be caused by enhanced information processing for expert objects in the ventral system in the affected or the intact hemisphere. Expert knowledge could trigger top–down mechanisms supporting object recognition despite of impaired basic functions of object processing. More importantly, the current work demonstrates that top–down mechanisms of visual expertise influence object recognition at an early stage, probably before visual object information propagates to modules of higher object recognition. Because HWS showed a lesion to the fusiform gyrus and spared capacities of expert object recognition, the current study emphasizes possible contributions of areas outside the ventral stream to visual expertise.
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Perceptual similarity and the neural correlates of geometrical illusions in human brain structure. Sci Rep 2017; 7:39968. [PMID: 28067329 PMCID: PMC5220349 DOI: 10.1038/srep39968] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2016] [Accepted: 11/29/2016] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Geometrical visual illusions are an intriguing phenomenon, in which subjective perception consistently misjudges the objective, physical properties of the visual stimulus. Prominent theoretical proposals have been advanced attempting to find common mechanisms across illusions. But empirically testing the similarity between illusions has been notoriously difficult because illusions have very different visual appearances. Here we overcome this difficulty by capitalizing on the variability of the illusory magnitude across participants. Fifty-nine healthy volunteers participated in the study that included measurement of individual illusion magnitude and structural MRI scanning. We tested the Muller-Lyer, Ebbinghaus, Ponzo, and vertical-horizontal geometrical illusions as well as a non-geometrical, contrast illusion. We found some degree of similarity in behavioral judgments of all tested geometrical illusions, but not between geometrical illusions and non-geometrical, contrast illusion. The highest similarity was found between Ebbinghaus and Muller-Lyer geometrical illusions. Furthermore, the magnitude of all geometrical illusions, and particularly the Ebbinghaus and Muller-Lyer illusions, correlated with local gray matter density in the parahippocampal cortex, but not in other brain areas. Our findings suggest that visuospatial integration and scene construction processes might partly mediate individual differences in geometric illusory perception. Overall, these findings contribute to a better understanding of the mechanisms behind geometrical illusions.
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Abstract
Abstract
The fusiform face area (FFA) is considered to be a highly specialized brain module because of its central importance for face perception. However, many researchers claim that the FFA is a general visual expertise module that distinguishes between individual examples within a single category. Here, I circumvent the shortcomings of some previous studies on the FFA controversy by using chess stimuli, which do not visually resemble faces, together with more sensitive methods of analysis such as multivariate pattern analysis. I also extend the previous research by presenting chess positions, complex scenes with multiple objects, and their interrelations to chess experts and novices as well as isolated chess objects. The first experiment demonstrates that chess expertise modulated the FFA activation when chess positions were presented. In contrast, single chess objects did not produce different activation patterns among experts and novices even when the multivariate pattern analysis was used. The second experiment focused on the single chess objects and featured an explicit task of identifying the chess objects but failed to demonstrate expertise effects in the FFA. The experiments provide support for the general expertise view of the FFA function but also extend the scope of our understanding about the function of the FFA. The FFA does not merely distinguish between different exemplars within the same category of stimuli. More likely, it parses complex multiobject stimuli that contain numerous functional and spatial relations.
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McGugin RW, Van Gulick AE, Gauthier I. Cortical Thickness in Fusiform Face Area Predicts Face and Object Recognition Performance. J Cogn Neurosci 2015; 28:282-94. [PMID: 26439272 DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_00891] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
The fusiform face area (FFA) is defined by its selectivity for faces. Several studies have shown that the response of FFA to nonface objects can predict behavioral performance for these objects. However, one possible account is that experts pay more attention to objects in their domain of expertise, driving signals up. Here, we show an effect of expertise with nonface objects in FFA that cannot be explained by differential attention to objects of expertise. We explore the relationship between cortical thickness of FFA and face and object recognition using the Cambridge Face Memory Test and Vanderbilt Expertise Test, respectively. We measured cortical thickness in functionally defined regions in a group of men who evidenced functional expertise effects for cars in FFA. Performance with faces and objects together accounted for approximately 40% of the variance in cortical thickness of several FFA patches. Whereas participants with a thicker FFA cortex performed better with vehicles, those with a thinner FFA cortex performed better with faces and living objects. The results point to a domain-general role of FFA in object perception and reveal an interesting double dissociation that does not contrast faces and objects but rather living and nonliving objects.
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What is special about expertise? Visual expertise reveals the interactive nature of real-world object recognition. Neuropsychologia 2015; 83:88-99. [PMID: 26095002 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2015.06.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2015] [Revised: 06/02/2015] [Accepted: 06/03/2015] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Ever since Diamond and Carey (1986. J. Exp. Psychol.: Gen., vol. 115, pp. 107-117) seminal work, the main model for studying expertise in visual object recognition ("visual expertise") has been face perception. The underlying assumption was that since faces may be considered the ultimate domain of visual expertise, any face-processing signature might actually be a general characteristic of visual expertise. However, while humans are clearly experts in face recognition, visual expertise is not restricted to faces and can be observed in a variety of domains. This raises the question of whether face recognition is in fact the right model to study visual expertise, and if not, what are the common cognitive and neural characteristics of visual expertise. The current perspective article addresses this question by revisiting past and recent neuroimaging and behavioural works on visual expertise. The view of visual expertise that emerges from these works is that expertise is a unique phenomenon, with distinctive neural and cognitive characteristics. Specifically, visual expertise is a controlled, interactive process that develops from the reciprocal interactions between the visual system and multiple top-down factors, including semantic knowledge, top-down attentional control, and task relevance. These interactions enable the ability to flexibly access domain-specific information at multiple scales and levels guided by multiple recognition goals. Extensive visual experience with a given object category culminates in the recruitment of these multiple systems, and is reflected in widespread neural activity, extending well beyond visual cortex, to include higher-level cortical areas.
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The potential of using brain images for authentication. ScientificWorldJournal 2014; 2014:749096. [PMID: 25126604 PMCID: PMC4121282 DOI: 10.1155/2014/749096] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2014] [Accepted: 06/19/2014] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Biometric recognition (also known as biometrics) refers to the automated recognition of individuals based on their biological or behavioral traits. Examples of biometric traits include fingerprint, palmprint, iris, and face. The brain is the most important and complex organ in the human body. Can it be used as a biometric trait? In this study, we analyze the uniqueness of the brain and try to use the brain for identity authentication. The proposed brain-based verification system operates in two stages: gray matter extraction and gray matter matching. A modified brain segmentation algorithm is implemented for extracting gray matter from an input brain image. Then, an alignment-based matching algorithm is developed for brain matching. Experimental results on two data sets show that the proposed brain recognition system meets the high accuracy requirement of identity authentication. Though currently the acquisition of the brain is still time consuming and expensive, brain images are highly unique and have the potential possibility for authentication in view of pattern recognition.
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Chamberlain R, McManus IC, Brunswick N, Rankin Q, Riley H, Kanai R. Drawing on the right side of the brain: A voxel-based morphometry analysis of observational drawing. Neuroimage 2014; 96:167-73. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2014.03.062] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2013] [Revised: 02/10/2014] [Accepted: 03/23/2014] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
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Normal acquisition of expertise with greebles in two cases of acquired prosopagnosia. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2014; 111:5123-8. [PMID: 24706834 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1317125111] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Face recognition is generally thought to rely on different neurocognitive mechanisms than most types of objects, but the specificity of these mechanisms is debated. One account suggests the mechanisms are specific to upright faces, whereas the expertise view proposes the mechanisms operate on objects of high within-class similarity with which an observer has become proficient at rapid individuation. Much of the evidence cited in support of the expertise view comes from laboratory-based training experiments involving computer-generated objects called greebles that are designed to place face-like demands on recognition mechanisms. A fundamental prediction of the expertise hypothesis is that recognition deficits with faces will be accompanied by deficits with objects of expertise. Here we present two cases of acquired prosopagnosia, Herschel and Florence, who violate this prediction: Both show normal performance in a standard greeble training procedure, along with severe deficits on a matched face training procedure. Herschel and Florence also meet several response time criteria that advocates of the expertise view suggest signal successful acquisition of greeble expertise. Furthermore, Herschel's results show that greeble learning can occur without normal functioning of the right fusiform face area, an area proposed to mediate greeble expertise. The marked dissociation between face and greeble expertise undermines greeble-based claims challenging face-specificity and indicates face recognition mechanisms are not necessary for object recognition after laboratory-based training.
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Harel A, Kravitz D, Baker CI. Beyond perceptual expertise: revisiting the neural substrates of expert object recognition. Front Hum Neurosci 2013; 7:885. [PMID: 24409134 PMCID: PMC3873520 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2013.00885] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2013] [Accepted: 12/05/2013] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Real-world expertise provides a valuable opportunity to understand how experience shapes human behavior and neural function. In the visual domain, the study of expert object recognition, such as in car enthusiasts or bird watchers, has produced a large, growing, and often-controversial literature. Here, we synthesize this literature, focusing primarily on results from functional brain imaging, and propose an interactive framework that incorporates the impact of high-level factors, such as attention and conceptual knowledge, in supporting expertise. This framework contrasts with the perceptual view of object expertise that has concentrated largely on stimulus-driven processing in visual cortex. One prominent version of this perceptual account has almost exclusively focused on the relation of expertise to face processing and, in terms of the neural substrates, has centered on face-selective cortical regions such as the Fusiform Face Area (FFA). We discuss the limitations of this face-centric approach as well as the more general perceptual view, and highlight that expert related activity is: (i) found throughout visual cortex, not just FFA, with a strong relationship between neural response and behavioral expertise even in the earliest stages of visual processing, (ii) found outside visual cortex in areas such as parietal and prefrontal cortices, and (iii) modulated by the attentional engagement of the observer suggesting that it is neither automatic nor driven solely by stimulus properties. These findings strongly support a framework in which object expertise emerges from extensive interactions within and between the visual system and other cognitive systems, resulting in widespread, distributed patterns of expertise-related activity across the entire cortex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Assaf Harel
- Laboratory of Brain and Cognition, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Dwight Kravitz
- Laboratory of Brain and Cognition, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Chris I Baker
- Laboratory of Brain and Cognition, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health Bethesda, MD, USA
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Association and dissociation between detection and discrimination of objects of expertise: Evidence from visual search. Atten Percept Psychophys 2013; 76:391-406. [DOI: 10.3758/s13414-013-0562-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
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Harel A, Bentin S. Are all types of expertise created equal? Car experts use different spatial frequency scales for subordinate categorization of cars and faces. PLoS One 2013; 8:e67024. [PMID: 23826188 PMCID: PMC3691146 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0067024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2012] [Accepted: 05/16/2013] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
A much-debated question in object recognition is whether expertise for faces and expertise for non-face objects utilize common perceptual information. We investigated this issue by assessing the diagnostic information required for different types of expertise. Specifically, we asked whether face categorization and expert car categorization at the subordinate level relies on the same spatial frequency (SF) scales. Fifteen car experts and fifteen novices performed a category verification task with spatially filtered images of faces, cars, and airplanes. Images were categorized based on their basic (e.g. “car”) and subordinate level (e.g. “Japanese car”) identity. The effect of expertise was not evident when objects were categorized at the basic level. However, when the car experts categorized faces and cars at the subordinate level, the two types of expertise required different kinds of SF information. Subordinate categorization of faces relied on low SFs more than on high SFs, whereas subordinate expert car categorization relied on high SFs more than on low SFs. These findings suggest that expertise in the recognition of objects and faces do not utilize the same type of information. Rather, different types of expertise require different types of diagnostic visual information.
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Affiliation(s)
- Assaf Harel
- Laboratory of Brain and Cognition, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, United States of America.
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Tremblay P, Dick AS, Small SL. Functional and structural aging of the speech sensorimotor neural system: functional magnetic resonance imaging evidence. Neurobiol Aging 2013; 34:1935-51. [PMID: 23523270 DOI: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2013.02.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2012] [Revised: 01/16/2013] [Accepted: 02/09/2013] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
The ability to perceive and produce speech undergoes important changes in late adulthood. The goal of the present study was to characterize functional and structural age-related differences in the cortical network that support speech perception and production, using magnetic resonance imaging, as well as the relationship between functional and structural age-related changes occurring in this network. We asked young and older adults to observe videos of a speaker producing single words (perception), and to observe and repeat the words produced (production). Results show a widespread bilateral network of brain activation for Perception and Production that was not correlated with age. In addition, several regions did show age-related change (auditory cortex, planum temporale, superior temporal sulcus, premotor cortices, SMA-proper). Examination of the relationship between brain signal and regional and global gray matter volume and cortical thickness revealed a complex set of relationships between structure and function, with some regions showing a relationship between structure and function and some not. The present results provide novel findings about the neurobiology of aging and verbal communication.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pascale Tremblay
- Centre de Recherche de l'Institut Universitaire en Santé Mentale de Québec, Department of Rehabilitation, Université Laval, Québec City, Québec, Canada.
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Neuroanatomical correlates of biological motion detection. Neuropsychologia 2012; 51:457-63. [PMID: 23211992 PMCID: PMC3611598 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2012.11.027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2012] [Revised: 11/05/2012] [Accepted: 11/12/2012] [Indexed: 12/02/2022]
Abstract
Biological motion detection is both commonplace and important, but there is great inter-individual variability in this ability, the neural basis of which is currently unknown. Here we examined whether the behavioral variability in biological motion detection is reflected in brain anatomy. Perceptual thresholds for detection of biological motion and control conditions (non-biological object motion detection and motion coherence) were determined in a group of healthy human adults (n=31) together with structural magnetic resonance images of the brain. Voxel based morphometry analyzes revealed that gray matter volumes of left posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS) and left ventral premotor cortex (vPMC) significantly predicted individual differences in biological motion detection, but showed no significant relationship with performance on the control tasks. Our study reveals a neural basis associated with the inter-individual variability in biological motion detection, reliably linking the neuroanatomical structure of left pSTS and vPMC with biological motion detection performance.
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