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Malladi SN, Skerswetat J, Tootell RB, Gaier ED, Bex P, Hunter DG, Nasr S. Decreased scene-selective activity within the posterior intraparietal cortex in amblyopic adults. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.06.05.597579. [PMID: 38895262 PMCID: PMC11185631 DOI: 10.1101/2024.06.05.597579] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/21/2024]
Abstract
Amblyopia is a developmental disorder associated with reduced performance in visually guided tasks, including binocular navigation within natural environments. To help understand the underlying neurological disorder, we used fMRI to test the impact of amblyopia on the functional organization of scene-selective cortical areas, including the posterior intraparietal gyrus scene-selective (PIGS) area, a recently discovered region that responds selectively to ego-motion within naturalistic environments (Kennedy et al., 2024). Nineteen amblyopic adults (10 female) and thirty age-matched controls (12 female) participated in this study. Amblyopic participants spanned a wide range of amblyopia severity, based on their interocular visual acuity difference and stereoacuity. The visual function questionnaire (VFQ-39) was used to assess the participants' perception of their visual capabilities. Compared to controls, we found weaker scene-selective activity within the PIGS area in amblyopic individuals. By contrast, the level of scene-selective activity across the occipital place area (OPA), parahippocampal place area (PPA), and retrosplenial cortex (RSC)) remained comparable between amblyopic and control participants. The subjects' scores on "general vision" (VFQ-39 subscale) correlated with the level of scene-selective activity in PIGS. These results provide novel and direct evidence for amblyopia-related changes in scene-processing networks, thus enabling future studies to potentially link these changes across the spectrum of documented disabilities in amblyopia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarala N. Malladi
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, United States
| | - Jan Skerswetat
- Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Roger B.H. Tootell
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, United States
- Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Eric D. Gaier
- Department of Ophthalmology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
- Department of Ophthalmology, Boston’s Children Hospital, Boston, MA, United States
- Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | - Peter Bex
- Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, United States
| | - David G. Hunter
- Department of Ophthalmology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Shahin Nasr
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, United States
- Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
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Yao M, Wen B, Yang M, Guo J, Jiang H, Feng C, Cao Y, He H, Chang L. High-dimensional topographic organization of visual features in the primate temporal lobe. Nat Commun 2023; 14:5931. [PMID: 37739988 PMCID: PMC10517140 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-41584-0] [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: 02/17/2023] [Accepted: 09/07/2023] [Indexed: 09/24/2023] Open
Abstract
The inferotemporal cortex supports our supreme object recognition ability. Numerous studies have been conducted to elucidate the functional organization of this brain area, but there are still important questions that remain unanswered, including how this organization differs between humans and non-human primates. Here, we use deep neural networks trained on object categorization to construct a 25-dimensional space of visual features, and systematically measure the spatial organization of feature preference in both male monkey brains and human brains using fMRI. These feature maps allow us to predict the selectivity of a previously unknown region in monkey brains, which is corroborated by additional fMRI and electrophysiology experiments. These maps also enable quantitative analyses of the topographic organization of the temporal lobe, demonstrating the existence of a pair of orthogonal gradients that differ in spatial scale and revealing significant differences in the functional organization of high-level visual areas between monkey and human brains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mengna Yao
- Institute of Neuroscience, Key Laboratory of Primate Neurobiology, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200031, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Bincheng Wen
- Institute of Neuroscience, Key Laboratory of Primate Neurobiology, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200031, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
- Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China
| | - Mingpo Yang
- Institute of Neuroscience, Key Laboratory of Primate Neurobiology, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200031, China
| | - Jiebin Guo
- Institute of Neuroscience, Key Laboratory of Primate Neurobiology, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200031, China
| | - Haozhou Jiang
- Institute of Neuroscience, Key Laboratory of Primate Neurobiology, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200031, China
| | - Chao Feng
- Institute of Neuroscience, Key Laboratory of Primate Neurobiology, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200031, China
| | - Yilei Cao
- Institute of Neuroscience, Key Laboratory of Primate Neurobiology, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200031, China
| | - Huiguang He
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
- Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China
| | - Le Chang
- Institute of Neuroscience, Key Laboratory of Primate Neurobiology, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200031, China.
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China.
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Schuurmans JP, Bennett MA, Petras K, Goffaux V. Backward masking reveals coarse-to-fine dynamics in human V1. Neuroimage 2023; 274:120139. [PMID: 37137434 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2023.120139] [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: 12/23/2022] [Revised: 04/20/2023] [Accepted: 04/26/2023] [Indexed: 05/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Natural images exhibit luminance variations aligned across a broad spectrum of spatial frequencies (SFs). It has been proposed that, at early stages of processing, the coarse signals carried by the low SF (LSF) of the visual input are sent rapidly from primary visual cortex (V1) to ventral, dorsal and frontal regions to form a coarse representation of the input, which is later sent back to V1 to guide the processing of fine-grained high SFs (i.e., HSF). We used functional resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate the role of human V1 in the coarse-to-fine integration of visual input. We disrupted the processing of the coarse and fine content of full-spectrum human face stimuli via backward masking of selective SF ranges (LSFs: <1.75cpd and HSFs: >1.75cpd) at specific times (50, 83, 100 or 150ms). In line with coarse-to-fine proposals, we found that (1) the selective masking of stimulus LSF disrupted V1 activity in the earliest time window, and progressively decreased in influence, while (2) an opposite trend was observed for the masking of stimulus' HSF. This pattern of activity was found in V1, as well as in ventral (i.e. the Fusiform Face area, FFA), dorsal and orbitofrontal regions. We additionally presented subjects with contrast negated stimuli. While contrast negation significantly reduced response amplitudes in the FFA, as well as coupling between FFA and V1, coarse-to-fine dynamics were not affected by this manipulation. The fact that V1 response dynamics to strictly identical stimulus sets differed depending on the masked scale adds to growing evidence that V1 role goes beyond the early and quasi-passive transmission of visual information to the rest of the brain. It instead indicates that V1 may yield a 'spatially registered common forum' or 'blackboard' that integrates top-down inferences with incoming visual signals through its recurrent interaction with high-level regions located in the inferotemporal, dorsal and frontal regions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jolien P Schuurmans
- Psychological Sciences Research Institute (IPSY), UC Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium.
| | - Matthew A Bennett
- Psychological Sciences Research Institute (IPSY), UC Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium; Institute of Neuroscience (IONS), UC Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
| | - Kirsten Petras
- Integrative Neuroscience and Cognition Center, CNRS, Université Paris Cité, Paris, France
| | - Valérie Goffaux
- Psychological Sciences Research Institute (IPSY), UC Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium; Institute of Neuroscience (IONS), UC Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium; Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands
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Natural Contrast Statistics Facilitate Human Face Categorization. eNeuro 2022; 9:ENEURO.0420-21.2022. [PMID: 36096649 PMCID: PMC9536856 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0420-21.2022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2021] [Revised: 06/23/2022] [Accepted: 07/11/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
The ability to detect faces in the environment is of utmost ecological importance for human social adaptation. While face categorization is efficient, fast and robust to sensory degradation, it is massively impaired when the facial stimulus does not match the natural contrast statistics of this visual category, i.e., the typically experienced ordered alternation of relatively darker and lighter regions of the face. To clarify this phenomenon, we characterized the contribution of natural contrast statistics to face categorization. Specifically, 31 human adults viewed various natural images of nonface categories at a rate of 12 Hz, with highly variable images of faces occurring every eight stimuli (1.5 Hz). As in previous studies, neural responses at 1.5 Hz as measured with high-density electroencephalography (EEG) provided an objective neural index of face categorization. Here, when face images were shown in their naturally experienced contrast statistics, the 1.5-Hz face categorization response emerged over occipito-temporal electrodes at very low contrast [5.1%, or 0.009 root-mean-square (RMS) contrast], quickly reaching optimal amplitude at 22.6% of contrast (i.e., RMS contrast of 0.041). Despite contrast negation preserving an image's spectral and geometrical properties, negative contrast images required twice as much contrast to trigger a face categorization response, and three times as much to reach optimum. These observations characterize how the internally stored natural contrast statistics of the face category facilitate visual processing for the sake of fast and efficient face categorization.
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Abstract
Nowadays, several techniques exist to study and better understand how the brain works (fMRI, EEG, electrophysiology, etc.). Each has its own advantages and disadvantages (spatiotemporal resolution, maximal recording depth, signal-to-noise ratio, etc.). In this article, we show that the new functional ultrasound (fUS) imaging technique is appropriate to record and map brain activity in awake primates on a scale previously unreachable. It allows distinguishing patterns similar to ocular dominance bands in the visual cortex through all layers of the cortex, which was impossible before with common techniques. This paper demonstrates the utility of fUS imaging for studying brain activity in awake primates and its interest to all neuroscientists. Deep regions of the brain are not easily accessible to investigation at the mesoscale level in awake animals or humans. We have recently developed a functional ultrasound (fUS) technique that enables imaging hemodynamic responses to visual tasks. Using fUS imaging on two awake nonhuman primates performing a passive fixation task, we constructed retinotopic maps at depth in the visual cortex (V1, V2, and V3) in the calcarine and lunate sulci. The maps could be acquired in a single-hour session with relatively few presentations of the stimuli. The spatial resolution of the technology is illustrated by mapping patterns similar to ocular dominance (OD) columns within superficial and deep layers of the primary visual cortex. These acquisitions using fUS suggested that OD selectivity is mostly present in layer IV but with extensions into layers II/III and V. This imaging technology provides a new mesoscale approach to the mapping of brain activity at high spatiotemporal resolution in awake subjects within the whole depth of the cortex.
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Columnar Segregation of Magnocellular and Parvocellular Streams in Human Extrastriate Cortex. J Neurosci 2017; 37:8014-8032. [PMID: 28724749 PMCID: PMC5559769 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.0690-17.2017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2017] [Revised: 07/05/2017] [Accepted: 07/09/2017] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Magnocellular versus parvocellular (M-P) streams are fundamental to the organization of macaque visual cortex. Segregated, paired M-P streams extend from retina through LGN into V1. The M stream extends further into area V5/MT, and parts of V2. However, elsewhere in visual cortex, it remains unclear whether M-P-derived information (1) becomes intermixed or (2) remains segregated in M-P-dominated columns and neurons. Here we tested whether M-P streams exist in extrastriate cortical columns, in 8 human subjects (4 female). We acquired high-resolution fMRI at high field (7T), testing for M- and P-influenced columns within each of four cortical areas (V2, V3, V3A, and V4), based on known functional distinctions in M-P streams in macaque: (1) color versus luminance, (2) binocular disparity, (3) luminance contrast sensitivity, (4) peak spatial frequency, and (5) color/spatial interactions. Additional measurements of resting state activity (eyes closed) tested for segregated functional connections between these columns. We found M- and P-like functions and connections within and between segregated cortical columns in V2, V3, and (in most experiments) area V4. Area V3A was dominated by the M stream, without significant influence from the P stream. These results suggest that M-P streams exist, and extend through, specific columns in early/middle stages of human extrastriate cortex.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The magnocellular and parvocellular (M-P) streams are fundamental components of primate visual cortical organization. These streams segregate both anatomical and functional properties in parallel, from retina through primary visual cortex. However, in most higher-order cortical sites, it is unknown whether such M-P streams exist and/or what form those streams would take. Moreover, it is unknown whether M-P streams exist in human cortex. Here, fMRI evidence measured at high field (7T) and high resolution revealed segregated M-P streams in four areas of human extrastriate cortex. These results suggest that M-P information is processed in segregated parallel channels throughout much of human visual cortex; the M-P streams are more than a convenient sorting property in earlier stages of the visual system.
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Reliable individual-level neural markers of high-level language processing: A necessary precursor for relating neural variability to behavioral and genetic variability. Neuroimage 2016; 139:74-93. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2016.05.073] [Citation(s) in RCA: 80] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2015] [Revised: 05/25/2016] [Accepted: 05/27/2016] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
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Liu-Shuang J, Ales JM, Rossion B, Norcia AM. The effect of contrast polarity reversal on face detection: Evidence of perceptual asymmetry from sweep VEP. Vision Res 2015; 108:8-19. [PMID: 25595857 DOI: 10.1016/j.visres.2015.01.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2014] [Revised: 12/30/2014] [Accepted: 01/01/2015] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
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Popivanov ID, Jastorff J, Vanduffel W, Vogels R. Tolerance of macaque middle STS body patch neurons to shape-preserving stimulus transformations. J Cogn Neurosci 2014; 27:1001-16. [PMID: 25390202 DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_00762] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
Functional imaging studies in human and nonhuman primates have demonstrated regions in the brain that show category selectivity for faces or (headless) bodies. Recent fMRI-guided single unit studies of the macaque face category-selective regions have increased our understanding of the response properties of single neurons in these face patches. However, much less is known about the response properties of neurons in the fMRI-defined body category-selective regions ("body patches"). Recently, we reported that the majority of single neurons in one fMRI-defined body patch, the mid-STS body patch, responded more strongly to bodies compared with other objects. Here we assessed the tolerance of these neurons' responses and stimulus preference for shape-preserving image transformations. After mapping the receptive field of the single neurons, we found that their stimulus preference showed a high degree of tolerance for changes in the position and size of the stimulus. However, their response strongly depended on the in-plane orientation of a body. The selectivity of most neurons was, to a large degree, preserved when silhouettes were presented instead of the original textured and shaded images, suggesting that mainly shape-based features are driving these neurons. In a human psychophysical study, we showed that the information present in silhouettes is largely sufficient for body versus nonbody categorization. These data suggest that mid-STS body patch neurons respond predominantly to oriented shape features that are prevalent in images of bodies. Their responses can inform position- and retinal size-invariant body categorization and discrimination based on shape.
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Yan T, Wang B, Geng Y, Yan Y, Mu N, Wu J, Guo Q, Tang X, Zeng Y, Peng Y. Contrast response functions with wide-view stimuli in the human visual cortex. Perception 2014; 43:677-93. [PMID: 25223111 DOI: 10.1068/p7640] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
In this manuscript, using a novel wide-view visual presentation system that we developed for vision research and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we studied contrast response functions in regions of the brain that are central and peripheral to the entire set of visual areas (V1, V2, V3, V3A, MT+), regions that have not been all investigated in previous vision research. Under the stimulus conditions which were 0-20 deg, 20-40 deg, and 40-60 deg eccentricity black-and-white checkerboard patterns, we measured the blood oxygenation level-dependent fMRI contrast response at five contrast levels (6, 12, 24, 48, and 96%) in the visual areas. On the basis of these data, the central and pericentral visual areas had low-contrast gain, whereas the peripheral visual areas had high-contrast gain. In addition, our results showed that the signals fundamentally shift during visual processing through posterior visual cortical areas (V1, V2, and V3) to superior visual cortical areas (V3A and MT+).
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Holt DJ, Boeke EA, Wolthusen RPF, Nasr S, Milad MR, Tootell RBH. A parametric study of fear generalization to faces and non-face objects: relationship to discrimination thresholds. Front Hum Neurosci 2014; 8:624. [PMID: 25249955 PMCID: PMC4155784 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2014.00624] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2014] [Accepted: 07/26/2014] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Fear generalization is the production of fear responses to a stimulus that is similar—but not identical—to a threatening stimulus. Although prior studies have found that fear generalization magnitudes are qualitatively related to the degree of perceptual similarity to the threatening stimulus, the precise relationship between these two functions has not been measured systematically. Also, it remains unknown whether fear generalization mechanisms differ for social and non-social information. To examine these questions, we measured perceptual discrimination and fear generalization in the same subjects, using images of human faces and non-face control stimuli (“blobs”) that were perceptually matched to the faces. First, each subject’s ability to discriminate between pairs of faces or blobs was measured. Each subject then underwent a Pavlovian fear conditioning procedure, in which each of the paired conditioned stimuli (CS) were either followed (CS+) or not followed (CS−) by a shock. Skin conductance responses (SCRs) were also measured. Subjects were then presented with the CS+, CS− and five levels of a CS+-to-CS− morph continuum between the paired stimuli, which were identified based on individual discrimination thresholds. Finally, subjects rated the likelihood that each stimulus had been followed by a shock. Subjects showed both autonomic (SCR-based) and conscious (ratings-based) fear responses to morphs that they could not discriminate from the CS+ (generalization). For both faces and non-face objects, fear generalization was not found above discrimination thresholds. However, subjects exhibited greater fear generalization in the shock likelihood ratings compared to the SCRs, particularly for faces. These findings reveal that autonomic threat detection mechanisms in humans are highly sensitive to small perceptual differences between stimuli. Also, the conscious evaluation of threat shows broader generalization than autonomic responses, biased towards labeling a stimulus as threatening.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daphne J Holt
- The Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital Boston, MA, USA ; Harvard Medical School Boston, MA, USA ; The Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Emily A Boeke
- The Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital Boston, MA, USA
| | - Rick P F Wolthusen
- The Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital Boston, MA, USA ; Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine Carl Gustav Carus of the Technische Universität Dresden Dresden, Germany
| | - Shahin Nasr
- The Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging Charlestown, MA, USA ; The Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital Boston, MA, USA
| | - Mohammed R Milad
- The Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital Boston, MA, USA ; Harvard Medical School Boston, MA, USA
| | - Roger B H Tootell
- Harvard Medical School Boston, MA, USA ; The Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging Charlestown, MA, USA ; The Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital Boston, MA, USA
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12
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Abstract
Fifteen years ago, an intriguing area was found in human visual cortex. This area (the parahippocampal place area [PPA]) was initially interpreted as responding selectively to images of places. However, subsequent studies reported that PPA also responds strongly to a much wider range of image categories, including inanimate objects, tools, spatial context, landmarks, objectively large objects, indoor scenes, and/or isolated buildings. Here, we hypothesized that PPA responds selectively to a lower-level stimulus property (rectilinear features), which are common to many of the above higher-order categories. Using a novel wavelet image filter, we first demonstrated that rectangular features are common in these diverse stimulus categories. Then we tested whether PPA is selectively activated by rectangular features in six independent fMRI experiments using progressively simplified stimuli, from complex real-world images, through 3D/2D computer-generated shapes, through simple line stimuli. We found that PPA was consistently activated by rectilinear features, compared with curved and nonrectangular features. This rectilinear preference was (1) comparable in amplitude and selectivity, relative to the preference for category (scenes vs faces), (2) independent of known biases for specific orientations and spatial frequency, and (3) not predictable from V1 activity. Two additional scene-responsive areas were sensitive to a subset of rectilinear features. Thus, rectilinear selectivity may serve as a crucial building block for category-selective responses in PPA and functionally related areas.
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