1
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Park J, Soucy E, Segawa J, Mair R, Konkle T. Immersive scene representation in human visual cortex with ultra-wide-angle neuroimaging. Nat Commun 2024; 15:5477. [PMID: 38942766 PMCID: PMC11213904 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-49669-0] [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: 09/01/2023] [Accepted: 06/13/2024] [Indexed: 06/30/2024] Open
Abstract
While human vision spans 220°, traditional functional MRI setups display images only up to central 10-15°. Thus, it remains unknown how the brain represents a scene perceived across the full visual field. Here, we introduce a method for ultra-wide angle display and probe signatures of immersive scene representation. An unobstructed view of 175° is achieved by bouncing the projected image off angled-mirrors onto a custom-built curved screen. To avoid perceptual distortion, scenes are created with wide field-of-view from custom virtual environments. We find that immersive scene representation drives medial cortex with far-peripheral preferences, but shows minimal modulation in classic scene regions. Further, scene and face-selective regions maintain their content preferences even with extreme far-periphery stimulation, highlighting that not all far-peripheral information is automatically integrated into scene regions computations. This work provides clarifying evidence on content vs. peripheral preferences in scene representation and opens new avenues to research immersive vision.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeongho Park
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA.
| | - Edward Soucy
- Center for Brain Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Jennifer Segawa
- Center for Brain Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Ross Mair
- Center for Brain Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Talia Konkle
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Center for Brain Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Kempner Institute for Biological and Artificial Intelligence, Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA
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2
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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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3
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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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4
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Kennedy B, Malladi SN, Tootell RBH, Nasr S. A previously undescribed scene-selective site is the key to encoding ego-motion in naturalistic environments. eLife 2024; 13:RP91601. [PMID: 38506719 PMCID: PMC10954307 DOI: 10.7554/elife.91601] [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] [Indexed: 03/21/2024] Open
Abstract
Current models of scene processing in the human brain include three scene-selective areas: the parahippocampal place area (or the temporal place areas), the restrosplenial cortex (or the medial place area), and the transverse occipital sulcus (or the occipital place area). Here, we challenged this model by showing that at least one other scene-selective site can also be detected within the human posterior intraparietal gyrus. Despite the smaller size of this site compared to the other scene-selective areas, the posterior intraparietal gyrus scene-selective (PIGS) site was detected consistently in a large pool of subjects (n = 59; 33 females). The reproducibility of this finding was tested based on multiple criteria, including comparing the results across sessions, utilizing different scanners (3T and 7T) and stimulus sets. Furthermore, we found that this site (but not the other three scene-selective areas) is significantly sensitive to ego-motion in scenes, thus distinguishing the role of PIGS in scene perception relative to other scene-selective areas. These results highlight the importance of including finer scale scene-selective sites in models of scene processing - a crucial step toward a more comprehensive understanding of how scenes are encoded under dynamic conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bryan Kennedy
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General HospitalCharlestownUnited States
| | - Sarala N Malladi
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General HospitalCharlestownUnited States
| | - Roger BH Tootell
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General HospitalCharlestownUnited States
- Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical SchoolBostonUnited States
| | - Shahin Nasr
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General HospitalCharlestownUnited States
- Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical SchoolBostonUnited States
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5
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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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6
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Maruya A, Zaidi Q. Perceptual transitions between object rigidity and non-rigidity: Competition and cooperation among motion energy, feature tracking, and shape-based priors. J Vis 2024; 24:3. [PMID: 38306112 PMCID: PMC10848565 DOI: 10.1167/jov.24.2.3] [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: 08/01/2023] [Accepted: 12/20/2023] [Indexed: 02/03/2024] Open
Abstract
Why do moving objects appear rigid when projected retinal images are deformed non-rigidly? We used rotating rigid objects that can appear rigid or non-rigid to test whether shape features contribute to rigidity perception. When two circular rings were rigidly linked at an angle and jointly rotated at moderate speeds, observers reported that the rings wobbled and were not linked rigidly, but rigid rotation was reported at slow speeds. When gaps, paint, or vertices were added, the rings appeared rigidly rotating even at moderate speeds. At high speeds, all configurations appeared non-rigid. Salient features thus contribute to rigidity at slow and moderate speeds but not at high speeds. Simulated responses of arrays of motion-energy cells showed that motion flow vectors are predominantly orthogonal to the contours of the rings, not parallel to the rotation direction. A convolutional neural network trained to distinguish flow patterns for wobbling versus rotation gave a high probability of wobbling for the motion-energy flows. However, the convolutional neural network gave high probabilities of rotation for motion flows generated by tracking features with arrays of MT pattern-motion cells and corner detectors. In addition, circular rings can appear to spin and roll despite the absence of any sensory evidence, and this illusion is prevented by vertices, gaps, and painted segments, showing the effects of rotational symmetry and shape. Combining convolutional neural network outputs that give greater weight to motion energy at fast speeds and to feature tracking at slow speeds, with the shape-based priors for wobbling and rolling, explained rigid and non-rigid percepts across shapes and speeds (R2 = 0.95). The results demonstrate how cooperation and competition between different neuronal classes lead to specific states of visual perception and to transitions between the states.
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Affiliation(s)
- Akihito Maruya
- Graduate Center for Vision Research, State University of New York, New York, NY, USA
| | - Qasim Zaidi
- Graduate Center for Vision Research, State University of New York, New York, NY, USA
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7
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Kennedy B, Malladi SN, Tootell RBH, Nasr S. A previously undescribed scene-selective site is the key to encoding ego-motion in naturalistic environments. RESEARCH SQUARE 2024:rs.3.rs-3378081. [PMID: 38260553 PMCID: PMC10802707 DOI: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-3378081/v2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2024]
Abstract
Current models of scene processing in the human brain include three scene-selective areas: the Parahippocampal Place Area (or the temporal place areas; PPA/TPA), the restrosplenial cortex (or the medial place area; RSC/MPA) and the transverse occipital sulcus (or the occipital place area; TOS/OPA). Here, we challenged this model by showing that at least one other scene-selective site can also be detected within the human posterior intraparietal gyrus. Despite the smaller size of this site compared to the other scene-selective areas, the posterior intraparietal gyrus scene-selective (PIGS) site was detected consistently in a large pool of subjects (n=59; 33 females). The reproducibility of this finding was tested based on multiple criteria, including comparing the results across sessions, utilizing different scanners (3T and 7T) and stimulus sets. Furthermore, we found that this site (but not the other three scene-selective areas) is significantly sensitive to ego-motion in scenes, thus distinguishing the role of PIGS in scene perception relative to other scene-selective areas. These results highlight the importance of including finer scale scene-selective sites in models of scene processing - a crucial step toward a more comprehensive understanding of how scenes are encoded under dynamic conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bryan Kennedy
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, United States
| | - Sarala N. Malladi
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, 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
| | - 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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8
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Kennedy B, Malladi SN, Tootell RBH, Nasr S. A previously undescribed scene-selective site is the key to encoding ego-motion in naturalistic environments. RESEARCH SQUARE 2024:rs.3.rs-3378081. [PMID: 38260553 PMCID: PMC10802707 DOI: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-3378081/v3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/04/2024]
Abstract
Current models of scene processing in the human brain include three scene-selective areas: the Parahippocampal Place Area (or the temporal place areas; PPA/TPA), the restrosplenial cortex (or the medial place area; RSC/MPA) and the transverse occipital sulcus (or the occipital place area; TOS/OPA). Here, we challenged this model by showing that at least one other scene-selective site can also be detected within the human posterior intraparietal gyrus. Despite the smaller size of this site compared to the other scene-selective areas, the posterior intraparietal gyrus scene-selective (PIGS) site was detected consistently in a large pool of subjects (n=59; 33 females). The reproducibility of this finding was tested based on multiple criteria, including comparing the results across sessions, utilizing different scanners (3T and 7T) and stimulus sets. Furthermore, we found that this site (but not the other three scene-selective areas) is significantly sensitive to ego-motion in scenes, thus distinguishing the role of PIGS in scene perception relative to other scene-selective areas. These results highlight the importance of including finer scale scene-selective sites in models of scene processing - a crucial step toward a more comprehensive understanding of how scenes are encoded under dynamic conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bryan Kennedy
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, United States
| | - Sarala N. Malladi
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, 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
| | - 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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9
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Sulpizio V, von Gal A, Galati G, Fattori P, Galletti C, Pitzalis S. Neural sensitivity to translational self- and object-motion velocities. Hum Brain Mapp 2024; 45:e26571. [PMID: 38224544 PMCID: PMC10785198 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.26571] [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: 05/08/2023] [Revised: 12/04/2023] [Accepted: 12/07/2023] [Indexed: 01/17/2024] Open
Abstract
The ability to detect and assess world-relative object-motion is a critical computation performed by the visual system. This computation, however, is greatly complicated by the observer's movements, which generate a global pattern of motion on the observer's retina. How the visual system implements this computation is poorly understood. Since we are potentially able to detect a moving object if its motion differs in velocity (or direction) from the expected optic flow generated by our own motion, here we manipulated the relative motion velocity between the observer and the object within a stationary scene as a strategy to test how the brain accomplishes object-motion detection. Specifically, we tested the neural sensitivity of brain regions that are known to respond to egomotion-compatible visual motion (i.e., egomotion areas: cingulate sulcus visual area, posterior cingulate sulcus area, posterior insular cortex [PIC], V6+, V3A, IPSmot/VIP, and MT+) to a combination of different velocities of visually induced translational self- and object-motion within a virtual scene while participants were instructed to detect object-motion. To this aim, we combined individual surface-based brain mapping, task-evoked activity by functional magnetic resonance imaging, and parametric and representational similarity analyses. We found that all the egomotion regions (except area PIC) responded to all the possible combinations of self- and object-motion and were modulated by the self-motion velocity. Interestingly, we found that, among all the egomotion areas, only MT+, V6+, and V3A were further modulated by object-motion velocities, hence reflecting their possible role in discriminating between distinct velocities of self- and object-motion. We suggest that these egomotion regions may be involved in the complex computation required for detecting scene-relative object-motion during self-motion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valentina Sulpizio
- Department of Cognitive and Motor Rehabilitation and NeuroimagingSanta Lucia Foundation (IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia)RomeItaly
- Department of PsychologySapienza UniversityRomeItaly
| | | | - Gaspare Galati
- Department of Cognitive and Motor Rehabilitation and NeuroimagingSanta Lucia Foundation (IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia)RomeItaly
- Department of PsychologySapienza UniversityRomeItaly
| | - Patrizia Fattori
- Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor SciencesUniversity of BolognaBolognaItaly
| | - Claudio Galletti
- Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor SciencesUniversity of BolognaBolognaItaly
| | - Sabrina Pitzalis
- Department of Cognitive and Motor Rehabilitation and NeuroimagingSanta Lucia Foundation (IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia)RomeItaly
- Department of Movement, Human and Health SciencesUniversity of Rome “Foro Italico”RomeItaly
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10
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Brewer AA, Barton B. Cortical field maps across human sensory cortex. Front Comput Neurosci 2023; 17:1232005. [PMID: 38164408 PMCID: PMC10758003 DOI: 10.3389/fncom.2023.1232005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2023] [Accepted: 11/07/2023] [Indexed: 01/03/2024] Open
Abstract
Cortical processing pathways for sensory information in the mammalian brain tend to be organized into topographical representations that encode various fundamental sensory dimensions. Numerous laboratories have now shown how these representations are organized into numerous cortical field maps (CMFs) across visual and auditory cortex, with each CFM supporting a specialized computation or set of computations that underlie the associated perceptual behaviors. An individual CFM is defined by two orthogonal topographical gradients that reflect two essential aspects of feature space for that sense. Multiple adjacent CFMs are then organized across visual and auditory cortex into macrostructural patterns termed cloverleaf clusters. CFMs within cloverleaf clusters are thought to share properties such as receptive field distribution, cortical magnification, and processing specialization. Recent measurements point to the likely existence of CFMs in the other senses, as well, with topographical representations of at least one sensory dimension demonstrated in somatosensory, gustatory, and possibly olfactory cortical pathways. Here we discuss the evidence for CFM and cloverleaf cluster organization across human sensory cortex as well as approaches used to identify such organizational patterns. Knowledge of how these topographical representations are organized across cortex provides us with insight into how our conscious perceptions are created from our basic sensory inputs. In addition, studying how these representations change during development, trauma, and disease serves as an important tool for developing improvements in clinical therapies and rehabilitation for sensory deficits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alyssa A. Brewer
- mindSPACE Laboratory, Departments of Cognitive Sciences and Language Science (by Courtesy), Center for Hearing Research, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
| | - Brian Barton
- mindSPACE Laboratory, Department of Cognitive Sciences, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
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11
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Maruya A, Zaidi Q. Perceptual Transitions between Object Rigidity & Non-rigidity: Competition and cooperation between motion-energy, feature-tracking and shape-based priors. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.04.07.536067. [PMID: 37503257 PMCID: PMC10369874 DOI: 10.1101/2023.04.07.536067] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/29/2023]
Abstract
Why do moving objects appear rigid when projected retinal images are deformed non-rigidly? We used rotating rigid objects that can appear rigid or non-rigid to test whether shape features contribute to rigidity perception. When two circular rings were rigidly linked at an angle and jointly rotated at moderate speeds, observers reported that the rings wobbled and were not linked rigidly but rigid rotation was reported at slow speeds. When gaps, paint or vertices were added, the rings appeared rigidly rotating even at moderate speeds. At high speeds, all configurations appeared non-rigid. Salient features thus contribute to rigidity at slow and moderate speeds, but not at high speeds. Simulated responses of arrays of motion-energy cells showed that motion flow vectors are predominantly orthogonal to the contours of the rings, not parallel to the rotation direction. A convolutional neural network trained to distinguish flow patterns for wobbling versus rotation, gave a high probability of wobbling for the motion-energy flows. However, the CNN gave high probabilities of rotation for motion flows generated by tracking features with arrays of MT pattern-motion cells and corner detectors. In addition, circular rings can appear to spin and roll despite the absence of any sensory evidence, and this illusion is prevented by vertices, gaps, and painted segments, showing the effects of rotational symmetry and shape. Combining CNN outputs that give greater weight to motion energy at fast speeds and to feature tracking at slow, with the shape-based priors for wobbling and rolling, explained rigid and nonrigid percepts across shapes and speeds (R2=0.95). The results demonstrate how cooperation and competition between different neuronal classes leads to specific states of visual perception and to transitions between the states.
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Affiliation(s)
- Akihito Maruya
- Graduate Center for Vision Research, State University of New York, 33 West 42nd St, New York, NY 10036
| | - Qasim Zaidi
- Graduate Center for Vision Research, State University of New York, 33 West 42nd St, New York, NY 10036
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12
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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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13
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Ribeiro FL, York A, Zavitz E, Bollmann S, Rosa MGP, Puckett A. Variability of visual field maps in human early extrastriate cortex challenges the canonical model of organization of V2 and V3. eLife 2023; 12:e86439. [PMID: 37580963 PMCID: PMC10427147 DOI: 10.7554/elife.86439] [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: 01/26/2023] [Accepted: 08/02/2023] [Indexed: 08/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Visual field maps in human early extrastriate areas (V2 and V3) are traditionally thought to form mirror-image representations which surround the primary visual cortex (V1). According to this scheme, V2 and V3 form nearly symmetrical halves with respect to the calcarine sulcus, with the dorsal halves representing lower contralateral quadrants, and the ventral halves representing upper contralateral quadrants. This arrangement is considered to be consistent across individuals, and thus predictable with reasonable accuracy using templates. However, data that deviate from this expected pattern have been observed, but mainly treated as artifactual. Here, we systematically investigate individual variability in the visual field maps of human early visual cortex using the 7T Human Connectome Project (HCP) retinotopy dataset. Our results demonstrate substantial and principled inter-individual variability. Visual field representation in the dorsal portions of V2 and V3 was more variable than in their ventral counterparts, including substantial departures from the expected mirror-symmetrical patterns. In addition, left hemisphere retinotopic maps were more variable than those in the right hemisphere. Surprisingly, only one-third of individuals had maps that conformed to the expected pattern in the left hemisphere. Visual field sign analysis further revealed that in many individuals the area conventionally identified as dorsal V3 shows a discontinuity in the mirror-image representation of the retina, associated with a Y-shaped lower vertical representation. Our findings challenge the current view that inter-individual variability in early extrastriate cortex is negligible, and that the dorsal portions of V2 and V3 are roughly mirror images of their ventral counterparts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fernanda Lenita Ribeiro
- School of Psychology, The University of QueenslandBrisbaneAustralia
- Queensland Brain Institute, The University of QueenslandBrisbaneAustralia
- School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, The University of QueenslandBrisbaneAustralia
| | - Ashley York
- School of Psychology, The University of QueenslandBrisbaneAustralia
- Queensland Brain Institute, The University of QueenslandBrisbaneAustralia
| | - Elizabeth Zavitz
- Department of Physiology, Monash UniversityMelbourneAustralia
- Neuroscience Program, Biomedicine Discovery Institute; Monash UniversityMelbourneAustralia
- Department of Electrical and Computer Systems Engineering, Monash UniversityClaytonAustralia
| | - Steffen Bollmann
- School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, The University of QueenslandBrisbaneAustralia
- Queensland Digital Health Centre, The University of QueenslandBrisbaneAustralia
| | - Marcello GP Rosa
- Department of Physiology, Monash UniversityMelbourneAustralia
- Neuroscience Program, Biomedicine Discovery Institute; Monash UniversityMelbourneAustralia
| | - Alexander Puckett
- School of Psychology, The University of QueenslandBrisbaneAustralia
- Queensland Brain Institute, The University of QueenslandBrisbaneAustralia
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14
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Bevilacqua M, Huxlin KR, Hummel FC, Raffin E. Pathway and directional specificity of Hebbian plasticity in the cortical visual motion processing network. iScience 2023; 26:107064. [PMID: 37408682 PMCID: PMC10319215 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.107064] [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: 06/23/2022] [Revised: 02/14/2023] [Accepted: 06/02/2023] [Indexed: 07/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Cortico-cortical paired associative stimulation (ccPAS), which repeatedly pairs single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) over two distant brain regions, is thought to modulate synaptic plasticity. We explored its spatial selectivity (pathway and direction specificity) and its nature (oscillatory signature and perceptual consequences) when applied along the ascending (Forward) and descending (Backward) motion discrimination pathway. We found unspecific connectivity increases in bottom-up inputs in the low gamma band, probably reflecting visual task exposure. A clear distinction in information transfer occurred in the re-entrant alpha signals, which were only modulated by Backward-ccPAS, and predictive of visual improvements in healthy participants. These results suggest a causal involvement of the re-entrant MT-to-V1 low-frequency inputs in motion discrimination and integration in healthy participants. Modulating re-entrant input activity could provide single-subject prediction scenarios for visual recovery. Visual recovery might indeed partly rely on these residual inputs projecting to spared V1 neurons.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michele Bevilacqua
- Defitech Chair in Clinical Neuroengineering, Neuro-X Institute (NRX) and Brain Mind Institute, EPFL, Geneva, Switzerland
- Defitech Chair in Clinical Neuroengineering, Neuro-X Institute (NRX) and Brain Mind Institute, Clinique Romande de Readaptation (CRR), EPFL Valais, Sion, Switzerland
| | - Krystel R. Huxlin
- The Flaum Eye Institute and Center for Visual Science, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA
| | - Friedhelm C. Hummel
- Defitech Chair in Clinical Neuroengineering, Neuro-X Institute (NRX) and Brain Mind Institute, EPFL, Geneva, Switzerland
- Defitech Chair in Clinical Neuroengineering, Neuro-X Institute (NRX) and Brain Mind Institute, Clinique Romande de Readaptation (CRR), EPFL Valais, Sion, Switzerland
- Clinical Neuroscience, University of Geneva Medical School, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Estelle Raffin
- Defitech Chair in Clinical Neuroengineering, Neuro-X Institute (NRX) and Brain Mind Institute, EPFL, Geneva, Switzerland
- Defitech Chair in Clinical Neuroengineering, Neuro-X Institute (NRX) and Brain Mind Institute, Clinique Romande de Readaptation (CRR), EPFL Valais, Sion, Switzerland
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15
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Rosenblum L, Kreß A, Arikan BE, Straube B, Bremmer F. Neural correlates of visual and tactile path integration and their task related modulation. Sci Rep 2023; 13:9913. [PMID: 37337037 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-36797-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2022] [Accepted: 06/09/2023] [Indexed: 06/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Self-motion induces sensory signals that allow to determine travel distance (path integration). For veridical path integration, one must distinguish self-generated from externally induced sensory signals. Predictive coding has been suggested to attenuate self-induced sensory responses, while task relevance can reverse the attenuating effect of prediction. But how is self-motion processing affected by prediction and task demands, and do effects generalize across senses? In this fMRI study, we investigated visual and tactile self-motion processing and its modulation by task demands. Visual stimuli simulated forward self-motion across a ground plane. Tactile self-motion stimuli were delivered by airflow across the subjects' forehead. In one task, subjects replicated a previously observed distance (Reproduction/Active; high behavioral demand) of passive self-displacement (Reproduction/Passive). In a second task, subjects travelled a self-chosen distance (Self/Active; low behavioral demand) which was recorded and played back to them (Self/Passive). For both tasks and sensory modalities, Active as compared to Passive trials showed enhancement in early visual areas and suppression in higher order areas of the inferior parietal lobule (IPL). Contrasting high and low demanding active trials yielded supramodal enhancement in the anterior insula. Suppression in the IPL suggests this area to be a comparator of sensory self-motion signals and predictions thereof.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lisa Rosenblum
- Department Neurophysics, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Karl-Von-Frisch-Straße 8a, 35043, Marburg, Germany.
- Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior, Philipps-Universität Marburg and Justus-Liebig-Universität Giessen, Giessen, Germany.
| | - Alexander Kreß
- Department Neurophysics, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Karl-Von-Frisch-Straße 8a, 35043, Marburg, Germany
- Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior, Philipps-Universität Marburg and Justus-Liebig-Universität Giessen, Giessen, Germany
| | - B Ezgi Arikan
- Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior, Philipps-Universität Marburg and Justus-Liebig-Universität Giessen, Giessen, Germany
- Department of Psychology, Justus-Liebig-Universität Giessen, Giessen, Germany
| | - Benjamin Straube
- Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior, Philipps-Universität Marburg and Justus-Liebig-Universität Giessen, Giessen, Germany
- Translational Neuroimaging Marburg, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Marburg, Germany
| | - Frank Bremmer
- Department Neurophysics, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Karl-Von-Frisch-Straße 8a, 35043, Marburg, Germany
- Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior, Philipps-Universität Marburg and Justus-Liebig-Universität Giessen, Giessen, Germany
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16
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Aggius-Vella E, Chebat DR, Maidenbaum S, Amedi A. Activation of human visual area V6 during egocentric navigation with and without visual experience. Curr Biol 2023; 33:1211-1219.e5. [PMID: 36863342 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.02.025] [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: 07/16/2022] [Revised: 11/23/2022] [Accepted: 02/07/2023] [Indexed: 03/04/2023]
Abstract
V6 is a retinotopic area located in the dorsal visual stream that integrates eye movements with retinal and visuo-motor signals. Despite the known role of V6 in visual motion, it is unknown whether it is involved in navigation and how sensory experiences shape its functional properties. We explored the involvement of V6 in egocentric navigation in sighted and in congenitally blind (CB) participants navigating via an in-house distance-to-sound sensory substitution device (SSD), the EyeCane. We performed two fMRI experiments on two independent datasets. In the first experiment, CB and sighted participants navigated the same mazes. The sighted performed the mazes via vision, while the CB performed them via audition. The CB performed the mazes before and after a training session, using the EyeCane SSD. In the second experiment, a group of sighted participants performed a motor topography task. Our results show that right V6 (rhV6) is selectively involved in egocentric navigation independently of the sensory modality used. Indeed, after training, rhV6 of CB is selectively recruited for auditory navigation, similarly to rhV6 in the sighted. Moreover, we found activation for body movement in area V6, which can putatively contribute to its involvement in egocentric navigation. Taken together, our findings suggest that area rhV6 is a unique hub that transforms spatially relevant sensory information into an egocentric representation for navigation. While vision is clearly the dominant modality, rhV6 is in fact a supramodal area that can develop its selectivity for navigation in the absence of visual experience.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elena Aggius-Vella
- The Baruch Ivcher Institute for Brain, Cognition & Technology, Reichman University, 4610101 Herzliya, Israel.
| | - Daniel-Robert Chebat
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Ariel University, 4076414 Ariel, Israel; Navigation and Accessibility Research Center of Ariel University (NARCA), Ariel University, 4076414 Ariel, Israel.
| | - Shachar Maidenbaum
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, 8410501 Beersheba, Israel; Zlotowski Center for Neuroscience, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, 8410501 Beersheba, Israel.
| | - Amir Amedi
- The Baruch Ivcher Institute for Brain, Cognition & Technology, Reichman University, 4610101 Herzliya, Israel.
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17
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A Large Video Set of Natural Human Actions for Visual and Cognitive Neuroscience Studies and Its Validation with fMRI. Brain Sci 2022; 13:brainsci13010061. [PMID: 36672043 PMCID: PMC9856703 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci13010061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2022] [Revised: 12/14/2022] [Accepted: 12/22/2022] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
The investigation of the perception of others' actions and underlying neural mechanisms has been hampered by the lack of a comprehensive stimulus set covering the human behavioral repertoire. To fill this void, we present a video set showing 100 human actions recorded in natural settings, covering the human repertoire except for emotion-driven (e.g., sexual) actions and those involving implements (e.g., tools). We validated the set using fMRI and showed that observation of the 100 actions activated the well-established action observation network. We also quantified the videos' low-level visual features (luminance, optic flow, and edges). Thus, this comprehensive video set is a valuable resource for perceptual and neuronal studies.
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18
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Ruehl RM, Flanagin VL, Ophey L, Raiser TM, Seiderer K, Ertl M, Conrad J, Zu Eulenburg P. The human egomotion network. Neuroimage 2022; 264:119715. [PMID: 36334557 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2022.119715] [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: 07/25/2022] [Revised: 10/18/2022] [Accepted: 10/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Abstract
All volitional movement in a three-dimensional space requires multisensory integration, in particular of visual and vestibular signals. Where and how the human brain processes and integrates self-motion signals remains enigmatic. Here, we applied visual and vestibular self-motion stimulation using fast and precise whole-brain neuroimaging to delineate and characterize the entire cortical and subcortical egomotion network in a substantial cohort (n=131). Our results identify a core egomotion network consisting of areas in the cingulate sulcus (CSv, PcM/pCi), the cerebellum (uvula), and the temporo-parietal cortex including area VPS and an unnamed region in the supramarginal gyrus. Based on its cerebral connectivity pattern and anatomical localization, we propose that this region represents the human homologue of macaque area 7a. Whole-brain connectivity and gradient analyses imply an essential role of the connections between the cingulate sulcus and the cerebellar uvula in egomotion perception. This could be via feedback loops involved updating visuo-spatial and vestibular information. The unique functional connectivity patterns of PcM/pCi hint at central role in multisensory integration essential for the perception of self-referential spatial awareness. All cortical egomotion hubs showed modular functional connectivity with other visual, vestibular, somatosensory and higher order motor areas, underlining their mutual function in general sensorimotor integration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ria Maxine Ruehl
- Department of Neurology, University Hospital Munich, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Marchionini Str. 15, 81377 Munich, Germany; German Center for Vertigo and Balance Disorders, IFB-LMU, University Hospital Munich, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Marchionini Str. 15, 81377 Munich, Germany.
| | - Virginia L Flanagin
- Department of Neurology, University Hospital Munich, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Marchionini Str. 15, 81377 Munich, Germany; German Center for Vertigo and Balance Disorders, IFB-LMU, University Hospital Munich, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Marchionini Str. 15, 81377 Munich, Germany; Graduate School of Systemic Neurosciences, Department of Biology II and Neurobiology, Großhaderner Str. 2, 82151 Planegg-Martinsried, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Germany
| | - Leoni Ophey
- German Center for Vertigo and Balance Disorders, IFB-LMU, University Hospital Munich, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Marchionini Str. 15, 81377 Munich, Germany
| | - Theresa Marie Raiser
- Department of Neurology, University Hospital Munich, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Marchionini Str. 15, 81377 Munich, Germany; German Center for Vertigo and Balance Disorders, IFB-LMU, University Hospital Munich, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Marchionini Str. 15, 81377 Munich, Germany
| | - Katharina Seiderer
- German Center for Vertigo and Balance Disorders, IFB-LMU, University Hospital Munich, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Marchionini Str. 15, 81377 Munich, Germany
| | - Matthias Ertl
- Institute of Psychology and Inselspital, Fabrikstrasse 8, 3012 Bern, University of Bern, Switzerland
| | - Julian Conrad
- Department of Neurology, University Hospital Munich, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Marchionini Str. 15, 81377 Munich, Germany; German Center for Vertigo and Balance Disorders, IFB-LMU, University Hospital Munich, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Marchionini Str. 15, 81377 Munich, Germany; Department of Neurology, Theodor-Kutze Ufer 1-3, 68167 Mannheim, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Peter Zu Eulenburg
- German Center for Vertigo and Balance Disorders, IFB-LMU, University Hospital Munich, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Marchionini Str. 15, 81377 Munich, Germany; Graduate School of Systemic Neurosciences, Department of Biology II and Neurobiology, Großhaderner Str. 2, 82151 Planegg-Martinsried, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Germany; Institute for Neuroradiology, University Hospital Munich, Marchionini Str. 15, 81377 Munich, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Germany
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19
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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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20
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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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21
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Sereno MI, Sood MR, Huang RS. Topological Maps and Brain Computations From Low to High. Front Syst Neurosci 2022; 16:787737. [PMID: 35747394 PMCID: PMC9210993 DOI: 10.3389/fnsys.2022.787737] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2021] [Accepted: 03/29/2022] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
We first briefly summarize data from microelectrode studies on visual maps in non-human primates and other mammals, and characterize differences among the features of the approximately topological maps in the three main sensory modalities. We then explore the almost 50% of human neocortex that contains straightforward topological visual, auditory, and somatomotor maps by presenting a new parcellation as well as a movie atlas of cortical area maps on the FreeSurfer average surface, fsaverage. Third, we review data on moveable map phenomena as well as a recent study showing that cortical activity during sensorimotor actions may involve spatially locally coherent traveling wave and bump activity. Finally, by analogy with remapping phenomena and sensorimotor activity, we speculate briefly on the testable possibility that coherent localized spatial activity patterns might be able to ‘escape’ from topologically mapped cortex during ‘serial assembly of content’ operations such as scene and language comprehension, to form composite ‘molecular’ patterns that can move across some cortical areas and possibly return to topologically mapped cortex to generate motor output there.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin I. Sereno
- Department of Psychology, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, United States
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Birkbeck, University of London, London, United Kingdom
- *Correspondence: Martin I. Sereno,
| | - Mariam Reeny Sood
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Birkbeck, University of London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Ruey-Song Huang
- Centre for Cognitive and Brain Sciences, University of Macau, Macau, Macao SAR, China
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22
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Arcaro MJ, Livingstone MS, Kay KN, Weiner KS. The retrocalcarine sulcus maps different retinotopic representations in macaques and humans. Brain Struct Funct 2022; 227:1227-1245. [PMID: 34921348 PMCID: PMC9046316 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-021-02427-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2021] [Accepted: 11/09/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Primate cerebral cortex is highly convoluted with much of the cortical surface buried in sulcal folds. The origins of cortical folding and its functional relevance have been a major focus of systems and cognitive neuroscience, especially when considering stereotyped patterns of cortical folding that are shared across individuals within a primate species and across multiple species. However, foundational questions regarding organizing principles shared across species remain unanswered. Taking a cross-species comparative approach with a careful consideration of historical observations, we investigate cortical folding relative to primary visual cortex (area V1). We identify two macroanatomical structures-the retrocalcarine and external calcarine sulci-in 24 humans and 6 macaque monkeys. We show that within species, these sulci are identifiable in all individuals, fall on a similar part of the V1 retinotopic map, and thus, serve as anatomical landmarks predictive of functional organization. Yet, across species, the underlying eccentricity representations corresponding to these macroanatomical structures differ strikingly across humans and macaques. Thus, the correspondence between retinotopic representation and cortical folding for an evolutionarily old structure like V1 is species-specific and suggests potential differences in developmental and experiential constraints across primates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael J Arcaro
- Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19146, USA
| | | | - Kendrick N Kay
- Center for Magnetic Resonance Research (CMRR), Department of Radiology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA
| | - Kevin S Weiner
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA.
- Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA.
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23
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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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24
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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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Visual Cortical Area MT Is Required for Development of the Dorsal Stream and Associated Visuomotor Behaviors. J Neurosci 2021; 41:8197-8209. [PMID: 34417331 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.0824-21.2021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2021] [Revised: 07/07/2021] [Accepted: 08/09/2021] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
The middle temporal (MT) area of the extrastriate visual cortex has long been studied in adulthood for its distinctive physiological properties and function as a part of the dorsal stream, yet interestingly it possesses a similar maturation profile as the primary visual cortex (V1). Here, we examined whether an early-life lesion in MT of marmoset monkeys (six female, two male) altered the dorsal stream development and the behavioral precision of reaching-to-grasp sequences. We observed permanent changes in the anatomy of cortices associated with both reaching (parietal and medial intraparietal areas) and grasping (anterior intraparietal area), as well as in reaching-and-grasping behaviors. In addition, we observed a significant impact on the anatomy of V1 and the direction sensitivity of V1 neurons in the lesion projection zone. These findings indicate that area MT is a crucial node in the development of primate vision, affecting both V1 and areas in the dorsal visual pathway known to mediate visually guided manual behaviors.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Previous studies have identified a role for the MT area of the visual cortex in perceiving motion, yet none have examined its central role in the development of the visual cortex and in the establishment of visuomotor behaviors. To address this, we used a unilateral MT lesion model in neonatal marmosets before examining the anatomic, physiological, and behavioral consequences. In adulthood, we observed perturbations in goal-orientated reach-and-grasp behavior, altered direction selectivity of V1 neurons, and changes in the cytoarchitecture throughout dorsal stream areas. This study highlights the importance of MT as a central node in visual system development and consequential visuomotor activity.
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Vision for action: thalamic and cortical inputs to the macaque superior parietal lobule. Brain Struct Funct 2021; 226:2951-2966. [PMID: 34524542 PMCID: PMC8541979 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-021-02377-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2021] [Accepted: 08/31/2021] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
The dorsal visual stream, the cortical circuit that in the primate brain is mainly dedicated to the visual control of actions, is split into two routes, a lateral and a medial one, both involved in coding different aspects of sensorimotor control of actions. The lateral route, named "lateral grasping network", is mainly involved in the control of the distal part of prehension, namely grasping and manipulation. The medial route, named "reach-to-grasp network", is involved in the control of the full deployment of prehension act, from the direction of arm movement to the shaping of the hand according to the object to be grasped. In macaque monkeys, the reach-to-grasp network (the target of this review) includes areas of the superior parietal lobule (SPL) that hosts visual and somatosensory neurons well suited to control goal-directed limb movements toward stationary as well as moving objects. After a brief summary of the neuronal functional properties of these areas, we will analyze their cortical and thalamic inputs thanks to retrograde neuronal tracers separately injected into the SPL areas V6, V6A, PEc, and PE. These areas receive visual and somatosensory information distributed in a caudorostral, visuosomatic trend, and some of them are directly connected with the dorsal premotor cortex. This review is particularly focused on the origin and type of visual information reaching the SPL, and on the functional role this information can play in guiding limb interaction with objects in structured and dynamic environments.
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Pitzalis S, Hadj-Bouziane F, Dal Bò G, Guedj C, Strappini F, Meunier M, Farnè A, Fattori P, Galletti C. Optic flow selectivity in the macaque parieto-occipital sulcus. Brain Struct Funct 2021; 226:2911-2930. [PMID: 34043075 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-021-02293-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2020] [Accepted: 05/08/2021] [Indexed: 01/16/2023]
Abstract
In humans, several neuroimaging studies have demonstrated that passive viewing of optic flow stimuli activates higher-level motion areas, like V6 and the cingulate sulcus visual area (CSv). In macaque, there are few studies on the sensitivity of V6 and CSv to egomotion compatible optic flow. The only fMRI study on this issue revealed selectivity to egomotion compatible optic flow in macaque CSv but not in V6 (Cotterau et al. Cereb Cortex 27(1):330-343, 2017, but see Fan et al. J Neurosci. 35:16303-16314, 2015). Yet, it is unknown whether monkey visual motion areas MT + and V6 display any distinctive fMRI functional profile relative to the optic flow stimulation, as it is the case for the homologous human areas (Pitzalis et al., Cereb Cortex 20(2):411-424, 2010). Here, we described the sensitivity of the monkey brain to two motion stimuli (radial rings and flow fields) originally used in humans to functionally map the motion middle temporal area MT + (Tootell et al. J Neurosci 15: 3215-3230, 1995a; Nature 375:139-141, 1995b) and the motion medial parietal area V6 (Pitzalis et al. 2010), respectively. In both animals, we found regions responding only to optic flow or radial rings stimulation, and regions responding to both stimuli. A region in the parieto-occipital sulcus (likely including V6) was one of the most highly selective area for coherently moving fields of dots, further demonstrating the power of this type of stimulation to activate V6 in both humans and monkeys. We did not find any evidence that putative macaque CSv responds to Flow Fields.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sabrina Pitzalis
- Department of Movement, Human and Health Sciences, University of Rome ''Foro Italico'', Rome, Italy. .,Department of Cognitive and Motor Rehabilitation and Neuroimaging, Santa Lucia Foundation (IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia), Rome, Italy.
| | - Fadila Hadj-Bouziane
- Integrative Multisensory Perception Action and Cognition Team (ImpAct), INSERM U1028, CNRS UMR5292, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center (CRNL), Lyon, France.,University of Lyon 1, Lyon, France
| | - Giulia Dal Bò
- Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Carole Guedj
- Integrative Multisensory Perception Action and Cognition Team (ImpAct), INSERM U1028, CNRS UMR5292, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center (CRNL), Lyon, France.,University of Lyon 1, Lyon, France
| | | | - Martine Meunier
- Integrative Multisensory Perception Action and Cognition Team (ImpAct), INSERM U1028, CNRS UMR5292, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center (CRNL), Lyon, France.,University of Lyon 1, Lyon, France
| | - Alessandro Farnè
- Integrative Multisensory Perception Action and Cognition Team (ImpAct), INSERM U1028, CNRS UMR5292, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center (CRNL), Lyon, France.,University of Lyon 1, Lyon, France
| | - Patrizia Fattori
- 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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Duwell EJ, Woertz EN, Mathis J, Carroll J, DeYoe EA. Aberrant visual population receptive fields in human albinism. J Vis 2021; 21:19. [PMID: 34007988 PMCID: PMC8142699 DOI: 10.1167/jov.21.5.19] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Retinotopic organization is a fundamental feature of visual cortex thought to play a vital role in encoding spatial information. One important aspect of normal retinotopy is the representation of the right and left hemifields in contralateral visual cortex. However, in human albinism, many temporal retinal afferents decussate aberrantly at the optic chiasm resulting in partially superimposed representations of opposite hemifields in each hemisphere of visual cortex. Previous functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies in human albinism suggest that the right and left hemifield representations are superimposed in a mirror-symmetric manner. This should produce imaging voxels which respond to two separate locations mirrored across the vertical meridian. However, it is not yet clear how retino-cortical miswiring in albinism manifests at the level of single voxel population receptive fields (pRFs). Here, we used pRF modeling to fit both single and dual pRF models to the visual responses of voxels in visual areas V1 to V3 of five subjects with albinism. We found that subjects with albinism (but not controls) have sizable clusters of voxels with unequivocal dual pRFs consistently corresponding to, but not fully coextensive with, regions of hemifield overlap. These dual pRFs were typically positioned at locations roughly mirrored across the vertical meridian and were uniquely clustered within a portion of the visual field for each subject.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ethan J Duwell
- Department of Biophysics, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA.,
| | - Erica N Woertz
- Department of Cell Biology, Neurobiology, and Anatomy, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA.,
| | - Jedidiah Mathis
- Department of Neurology, Medical College of Wisconsin, USA.,
| | - Joseph Carroll
- Department of Biophysics, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA.,Department of Cell Biology, Neurobiology, and Anatomy, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA.,Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA.,
| | - Edgar A DeYoe
- Department of Radiology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA.,
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Abstract
A universal signature of developmental dyslexia is literacy acquisition impairments. Besides, dyslexia may be related to deficits in selective spatial attention, in the sensitivity to global visual motion, speed processing, oculomotor coordination, and integration of auditory and visual information. Whether motion-sensitive brain areas of children with dyslexia can recognize different speeds of expanded optic flow and segregate the slow-speed from high-speed contrast of motion was a main question of the study. A combined event-related EEG experiment with optic flow visual stimulation and functional frequency-based graph approach (small-world propensity ϕ) were applied to research the responsiveness of areas, which are sensitive to motion, and also distinguish slow/fast -motion conditions on three groups of children: controls, untrained (pre-D) and trained dyslexics (post-D) with visual intervention programs. Lower ϕ at θ, α, γ1-frequencies (low-speed contrast) for controls than other groups represent that the networks rewire, expressed at β frequencies (both speed contrasts) in the post-D, whose network was most segregated. Functional connectivity nodes have not existed in pre-D at dorsal medial temporal area MT+/V5 (middle, superior temporal gyri), left-hemispheric middle occipital gyrus/visual V2, ventral occipitotemporal (fusiform gyrus/visual V4), ventral intraparietal (supramarginal, angular gyri), derived from θ-frequency network for both conditions. After visual training, compensatory mechanisms appeared to implicate/regain these brain areas in the left hemisphere through plasticity across extended brain networks. Specifically, for high-speed contrast, the nodes were observed in pre-D (θ-frequency) and post-D (β2-frequency) relative to controls in hyperactivity of the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, which might account for the attentional network and oculomotor control impairments in developmental dyslexia.
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30
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Zajac L, Killiany R. Activity Strength within Optic Flow-Sensitive Cortical Regions Is Associated with Visual Path Integration Accuracy in Aged Adults. Brain Sci 2021; 11:brainsci11020245. [PMID: 33669177 PMCID: PMC7919670 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci11020245] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2021] [Revised: 01/30/2021] [Accepted: 02/02/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Spatial navigation is a cognitive skill fundamental to successful interaction with our environment, and aging is associated with weaknesses in this skill. Identifying mechanisms underlying individual differences in navigation ability in aged adults is important to understanding these age-related weaknesses. One understudied factor involved in spatial navigation is self-motion perception. Important to self-motion perception is optic flow–the global pattern of visual motion experienced while moving through our environment. A set of optic flow-sensitive (OF-sensitive) cortical regions was defined in a group of young (n = 29) and aged (n = 22) adults. Brain activity was measured in this set of OF-sensitive regions and control regions using functional magnetic resonance imaging while participants performed visual path integration (VPI) and turn counting (TC) tasks. Aged adults had stronger activity in RMT+ during both tasks compared to young adults. Stronger activity in the OF-sensitive regions LMT+ and RpVIP during VPI, not TC, was associated with greater VPI accuracy in aged adults. The activity strength in these two OF-sensitive regions measured during VPI explained 42% of the variance in VPI task performance in aged adults. The results of this study provide novel support for global motion processing as a mechanism underlying visual path integration in normal aging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lauren Zajac
- Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, Boston University School of Medicine, 72 East Concord Street (L 1004), Boston, MA 02118, USA;
- Center for Biomedical Imaging, Boston University School of Medicine, 650 Albany Street, Boston, MA 02118, USA
- Correspondence:
| | - Ronald Killiany
- Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, Boston University School of Medicine, 72 East Concord Street (L 1004), Boston, MA 02118, USA;
- Center for Biomedical Imaging, Boston University School of Medicine, 650 Albany Street, Boston, MA 02118, USA
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31
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Di Marco S, Fattori P, Galati G, Galletti C, Lappe M, Maltempo T, Serra C, Sulpizio V, Pitzalis S. Preference for locomotion-compatible curved paths and forward direction of self-motion in somatomotor and visual areas. Cortex 2021; 137:74-92. [PMID: 33607346 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2020.12.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2020] [Revised: 11/20/2020] [Accepted: 12/05/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
During locomotion, leg movements define the direction of walking (forward or backward) and the path one is taking (straight or curved). These aspects of locomotion produce characteristic visual motion patterns during movement. Here, we tested whether cortical regions responding to either egomotion-compatible visual motion, or leg movements, or both, are sensitive to these locomotion-relevant aspects of visual motion. We compared a curved path (typically the visual feedback of a changing direction of movement in the environment) to a linear path for simulated forward and backward motion in an event-related fMRI experiment. We used an individual surface-based approach and two functional localizers to define (1) six egomotion-related areas (V6+, V3A, intraparietal motion area [IPSmot], cingulate sulcus visual area [CSv], posterior cingulate area [pCi], posterior insular cortex [PIC]) using the flow field stimulus and (2) three leg-related cortical regions (human PEc [hPEc], human PE [hPE] and primary somatosensory cortex [S-I]) using a somatomotor task. Then, we extracted the response from all these regions with respect to the main event-related fMRI experiment, consisting of passive viewing of an optic flow stimulus, simulating a forward or backward direction of self-motion in either linear or curved path. Results showed that some regions have a significant preference for the curved path motion (hPEc, hPE, S-I, IPSmot) or a preference for the forward motion (V3A), while other regions have both a significant preference for the curved path motion and for the forward compared to backward motion (V6+, CSv, pCi). We did not find any significant effects of the present stimuli in PIC. Since controlling locomotion mainly means controlling changes of walking direction in the environment during forward self-motion, such a differential functional profile among these cortical regions suggests that they play a differentiated role in the visual guidance of locomotion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Di Marco
- Department of Movement, Human and Health Sciences, University of Rome ''Foro Italico'', 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
- Department of Cognitive and Motor Rehabilitation and Neuroimaging, Santa Lucia Foundation (IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia), Rome, Italy; Brain Imaging Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Sapienza University, 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 Movement, Human and Health Sciences, University of Rome ''Foro Italico'', Rome, Italy; Department of Cognitive and Motor Rehabilitation and Neuroimaging, Santa Lucia Foundation (IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia), Rome, Italy
| | - Chiara Serra
- Department of Movement, Human and Health Sciences, University of Rome ''Foro Italico'', Rome, Italy; Department of Cognitive and Motor Rehabilitation and Neuroimaging, Santa Lucia Foundation (IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia), Rome, Italy
| | - Valentina Sulpizio
- Department of Cognitive and Motor Rehabilitation and Neuroimaging, Santa Lucia Foundation (IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia), Rome, Italy; Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Sabrina Pitzalis
- Department of Movement, Human and Health Sciences, University of Rome ''Foro Italico'', Rome, Italy; Department of Cognitive and Motor Rehabilitation and Neuroimaging, Santa Lucia Foundation (IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia), Rome, Italy
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Kagawa T, Makeig S, Miyakoshi M. Electroencephalographic Study on Sensory Integration in Visually Induced Postural Sway. J Cogn Neurosci 2020; 33:482-498. [PMID: 33284075 DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_01659] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
A periodically reversing optic flow animation, experienced while standing, induces an involuntary sway termed visually induced postural sway (VIPS). Interestingly, VIPS is suppressed during light finger touch to a stationary object. Here, we explored whether VIPS is mediated by parietal field activity in the dorsal visual stream as well as by activity in early visual areas, as has been suggested. We performed a mobile brain/body imaging study using high-density electroencephalographic recording from human participants (11 men and 3 women) standing during exposure to periodically reversing optic flow with and without light finger touch to a stable surface. We also performed recording their visuo-postural tracking movements as a typical visually guided movement to explore differences of cortical process of VIPS from the voluntary visuomotor process involving the dorsal stream. In the visuo-postural tracking condition, the participants moved their center of pressure in time with a slowly oscillating (expanding, shrinking) target rectangle. Source-resolved results showed that alpha band (8-13 Hz) activity in the medial and right occipital cortex during VIPS was modulated by the direction and velocity of optic flow and increased significantly during light finger touch. However, source-resolved potentials from the parietal association cortex showed no such modulation. During voluntary postural sway with feedback (but no visual flow) in which the dorsal stream is involved, sensorimotor areas produced more theta band (4-7 Hz) and less beta band (14-35 Hz) activity than during involuntary VIPS. These results suggest that VIPS involves cortical field dynamic changes in the early visual cortex rather than in the posterior parietal cortex of the visual dorsal stream.
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Caron-Guyon J, Corbo J, Zennou-Azogui Y, Xerri C, Kavounoudias A, Catz N. Neuronal Encoding of Multisensory Motion Features in the Rat Associative Parietal Cortex. Cereb Cortex 2020; 30:5372-5386. [PMID: 32494803 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhaa118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2020] [Revised: 04/06/2020] [Accepted: 04/14/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Motion perception is facilitated by the interplay of various sensory channels. In rodents, the cortical areas involved in multisensory motion coding remain to be identified. Using voltage-sensitive-dye imaging, we revealed a visuo-tactile convergent region that anatomically corresponds to the associative parietal cortex (APC). Single unit responses to moving visual gratings or whiskers deflections revealed a specific coding of motion characteristics strikingly found in both sensory modalities. The heteromodality of this region was further supported by a large proportion of bimodal neurons and by a classification procedure revealing that APC carries information about motion features, sensory origin and multisensory direction-congruency. Altogether, the results point to a central role of APC in multisensory integration for motion perception.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Julien Corbo
- Aix Marseille Université, CNRS, LNSC UMR 7260, Marseille 13331, France.,Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience, Rutgers University-Newark, NJ 07102, USA
| | | | - Christian Xerri
- Aix Marseille Université, CNRS, LNSC UMR 7260, Marseille 13331, France
| | - Anne Kavounoudias
- Aix Marseille Université, CNRS, LNSC UMR 7260, Marseille 13331, France
| | - Nicolas Catz
- Aix Marseille Université, CNRS, LNSC UMR 7260, Marseille 13331, France
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34
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Abstract
Heading estimation from optic flow is crucial for safe locomotion but becomes inaccurate if independent object motion is present. In ecological settings, such motion typically involves other animals or humans walking across the scene. An independently walking person presents a local disturbance of the flow field, which moves across the flow field as the walker traverses the scene. Is the bias in heading estimation produced by the local disturbance of the flow field or by the movement of the walker through the scene? We present a novel flow field stimulus in which the local flow disturbance and the movement of the walker can be pitted against each other. Each frame of this stimulus consists of a structureless random dot distribution. Across frames, the body shape of a walker is molded by presenting different flow field dynamics within and outside the body shape. In different experimental conditions, the flow within the body shape can be congruent with the walker's movement, incongruent with it, or congruent with the background flow. We show that heading inaccuracy results from the local flow disturbance rather than the movement through the scene. Moreover, we show that the local disturbances of the optic flow can be used to segment the walker and support biological motion perception to some degree. The dichotomous result that the walker can be segmented from the scene but that heading perception is nonetheless influenced by the flow produced by the walker confirms separate visual pathways for heading estimation, object segmentation, and biological motion perception.
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Affiliation(s)
- Krischan Koerfer
- Institute for Psychology and Otto Creutzfeldt Center for Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Muenster, Muenster, Germany
| | - Markus Lappe
- Institute for Psychology and Otto Creutzfeldt Center for Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Muenster, Muenster, Germany
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35
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Xi S, Yao J, Zhang S, Liu R, Wu L, Ye X, Zhang P, Wen W, Zhao C. Disrupted neural signals in patients with concomitant exotropia. Ophthalmic Physiol Opt 2020; 40:650-659. [PMID: 32672862 DOI: 10.1111/opo.12715] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2020] [Revised: 06/08/2020] [Accepted: 06/10/2020] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE Decreased binocular and oculomotor function in strabismics has recently been considered as cortical in origin. This study aimed to investigate functional abnormalities using a frequency-specific neuroimaging method in patients with concomitant exotropia (XT), and to demonstrate the clinical implications. METHODS Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data were collected in 26 XT patients and 26 matched controls. To evaluate the local spontaneous neural activity, the amplitude of low frequency fluctuations (ALFF) was calculated in the typical frequency band (0.01-0.08 Hz) as well as five narrowly-defined frequency bands (slow-6: 0-0.01 Hz, slow-5: 0.01-0.027 Hz, slow-4: 0.027-0.073 Hz, slow-3: 0.073-0.167 Hz, and slow-2: 0.167-0.25 Hz), respectively. RESULTS Patients with XT showed decreased ALFF in the bilateral parieto-occipital sulcus (POS), and increased ALFF in the bilateral thalamus within the typical frequency band. Frequency-dependent ALFF alterations were found in the higher visual areas such as the right lateral occipital complex (LOC). Furthermore, ALFF in the right LOC in the slow-5 band was positively correlated with fusion control score (r = 0.70, p < 0.0001) and binocular function score (r = 0.67, p = 0.0002). Regression analyses showed that early age of onset remained the only significant explanatory factor for ALFF reduction in the right POS in the typically-measured frequency band (also referred to as the typical frequency band) (Odds ratio, 0.038; 95% confidence interval, 0.001 to 0.075). CONCLUSIONS Our findings provide spatial information regarding the functionally disrupted regions in XT. Moreover, the frequency-dependent ALLF alteration in the right LOC might reflect a potential plastic capacity in binocular function, which could be a potential objective index for evaluating disease severity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sida Xi
- Eye Research Institute and Department of Ophthalmology, Eye & ENT Hospital, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.,Key Laboratory of Myopia, Ministry of Health, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.,Shanghai Key Laboratory of Visual Impairment and Restoration, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.,State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, Institutes of Brain Science, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Jing Yao
- Eye Research Institute and Department of Ophthalmology, Eye & ENT Hospital, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.,Key Laboratory of Myopia, Ministry of Health, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.,Shanghai Key Laboratory of Visual Impairment and Restoration, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.,State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, Institutes of Brain Science, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Shujie Zhang
- Eye Research Institute and Department of Ophthalmology, Eye & ENT Hospital, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.,Key Laboratory of Myopia, Ministry of Health, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.,Shanghai Key Laboratory of Visual Impairment and Restoration, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.,State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, Institutes of Brain Science, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Rui Liu
- Eye Research Institute and Department of Ophthalmology, Eye & ENT Hospital, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.,Key Laboratory of Myopia, Ministry of Health, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.,Shanghai Key Laboratory of Visual Impairment and Restoration, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.,State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, Institutes of Brain Science, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Lianqun Wu
- Eye Research Institute and Department of Ophthalmology, Eye & ENT Hospital, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.,Key Laboratory of Myopia, Ministry of Health, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.,Shanghai Key Laboratory of Visual Impairment and Restoration, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.,State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, Institutes of Brain Science, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Xinpei Ye
- Department of Radiology, Eye & ENT Hospital, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Peng Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Science, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Wen Wen
- Eye Research Institute and Department of Ophthalmology, Eye & ENT Hospital, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.,Key Laboratory of Myopia, Ministry of Health, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.,Shanghai Key Laboratory of Visual Impairment and Restoration, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.,State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, Institutes of Brain Science, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Chen Zhao
- Eye Research Institute and Department of Ophthalmology, Eye & ENT Hospital, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.,Key Laboratory of Myopia, Ministry of Health, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.,Shanghai Key Laboratory of Visual Impairment and Restoration, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.,State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, Institutes of Brain Science, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.,State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
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36
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Sulpizio V, Galati G, Fattori P, Galletti C, Pitzalis S. A common neural substrate for processing scenes and egomotion-compatible visual motion. Brain Struct Funct 2020; 225:2091-2110. [PMID: 32647918 PMCID: PMC7473967 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-020-02112-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2020] [Accepted: 07/02/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Neuroimaging studies have revealed two separate classes of category-selective regions specialized in optic flow (egomotion-compatible) processing and in scene/place perception. Despite the importance of both optic flow and scene/place recognition to estimate changes in position and orientation within the environment during self-motion, the possible functional link between egomotion- and scene-selective regions has not yet been established. Here we reanalyzed functional magnetic resonance images from a large sample of participants performing two well-known “localizer” fMRI experiments, consisting in passive viewing of navigationally relevant stimuli such as buildings and places (scene/place stimulus) and coherently moving fields of dots simulating the visual stimulation during self-motion (flow fields). After interrogating the egomotion-selective areas with respect to the scene/place stimulus and the scene-selective areas with respect to flow fields, we found that the egomotion-selective areas V6+ and pIPS/V3A responded bilaterally more to scenes/places compared to faces, and all the scene-selective areas (parahippocampal place area or PPA, retrosplenial complex or RSC, and occipital place area or OPA) responded more to egomotion-compatible optic flow compared to random motion. The conjunction analysis between scene/place and flow field stimuli revealed that the most important focus of common activation was found in the dorsolateral parieto-occipital cortex, spanning the scene-selective OPA and the egomotion-selective pIPS/V3A. Individual inspection of the relative locations of these two regions revealed a partial overlap and a similar response profile to an independent low-level visual motion stimulus, suggesting that OPA and pIPS/V3A may be part of a unique motion-selective complex specialized in encoding both egomotion- and scene-relevant information, likely for the control of navigation in a structured environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valentina Sulpizio
- Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences-DIBINEM, University of Bologna, Piazza di Porta San Donato 2, 40126, Bologna, Italy. .,Department of Cognitive and Motor Rehabilitation and Neuroimaging, Santa Lucia Foundation (IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia), Rome, Italy.
| | - Gaspare Galati
- Department of Cognitive and Motor Rehabilitation and Neuroimaging, Santa Lucia Foundation (IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia), Rome, Italy.,Brain Imaging Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy
| | - Patrizia Fattori
- Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences-DIBINEM, University of Bologna, Piazza di Porta San Donato 2, 40126, Bologna, Italy
| | - Claudio Galletti
- Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences-DIBINEM, University of Bologna, Piazza di Porta San Donato 2, 40126, 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
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37
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Kozhemiako N, Nunes AS, Samal A, Rana KD, Calabro FJ, Hämäläinen MS, Khan S, Vaina LM. Neural activity underlying the detection of an object movement by an observer during forward self-motion: Dynamic decoding and temporal evolution of directional cortical connectivity. Prog Neurobiol 2020; 195:101824. [PMID: 32446882 DOI: 10.1016/j.pneurobio.2020.101824] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2020] [Revised: 05/09/2020] [Accepted: 05/18/2020] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
Relatively little is known about how the human brain identifies movement of objects while the observer is also moving in the environment. This is, ecologically, one of the most fundamental motion processing problems, critical for survival. To study this problem, we used a task which involved nine textured spheres moving in depth, eight simulating the observer's forward motion while the ninth, the target, moved independently with a different speed towards or away from the observer. Capitalizing on the high temporal resolution of magnetoencephalography (MEG) we trained a Support Vector Classifier (SVC) using the sensor-level data to identify correct and incorrect responses. Using the same MEG data, we addressed the dynamics of cortical processes involved in the detection of the independently moving object and investigated whether we could obtain confirmatory evidence for the brain activity patterns used by the classifier. Our findings indicate that response correctness could be reliably predicted by the SVC, with the highest accuracy during the blank period after motion and preceding the response. The spatial distribution of the areas critical for the correct prediction was similar but not exclusive to areas underlying the evoked activity. Importantly, SVC identified frontal areas otherwise not detected with evoked activity that seem to be important for the successful performance in the task. Dynamic connectivity further supported the involvement of frontal and occipital-temporal areas during the task periods. This is the first study to dynamically map cortical areas using a fully data-driven approach in order to investigate the neural mechanisms involved in the detection of moving objects during observer's self-motion.
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Affiliation(s)
- N Kozhemiako
- Department of Biomedical Physiology and Kinesiology, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada; Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - A S Nunes
- Department of Biomedical Physiology and Kinesiology, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada; Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA.
| | - A Samal
- Departments of Biomedical Engineering, Neurology and the Graduate Program for Neuroscience, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA.
| | - K D Rana
- Departments of Biomedical Engineering, Neurology and the Graduate Program for Neuroscience, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA; National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
| | - F J Calabro
- Department of Psychiatry and Biomedical Engineering, University of Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
| | - M S Hämäläinen
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA; Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
| | - S Khan
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA; Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - L M Vaina
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA; Departments of Biomedical Engineering, Neurology and the Graduate Program for Neuroscience, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA; Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
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38
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Real and Imagined Grasping Movements Differently Activate the Human Dorsomedial Parietal Cortex. Neuroscience 2020; 434:22-34. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2020.03.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2019] [Revised: 03/09/2020] [Accepted: 03/10/2020] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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39
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Integration of Motion and Form Cues for the Perception of Self-Motion in the Human Brain. J Neurosci 2020; 40:1120-1132. [PMID: 31826945 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.3225-18.2019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2018] [Revised: 11/27/2019] [Accepted: 12/02/2019] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
When moving around in the world, the human visual system uses both motion and form information to estimate the direction of self-motion (i.e., heading). However, little is known about cortical areas in charge of this task. This brain-imaging study addressed this question by using visual stimuli consisting of randomly distributed dot pairs oriented toward a locus on a screen (the form-defined focus of expansion [FoE]) but moved away from a different locus (the motion-defined FoE) to simulate observer translation. We first fixed the motion-defined FoE location and shifted the form-defined FoE location. We then made the locations of the motion- and the form-defined FoEs either congruent (at the same location in the display) or incongruent (on the opposite sides of the display). The motion- or the form-defined FoE shift was the same in the two types of stimuli, but the perceived heading direction shifted for the congruent, but not for the incongruent stimuli. Participants (both sexes) made a task-irrelevant (contrast discrimination) judgment during scanning. Searchlight and ROI-based multivoxel pattern analysis revealed that early visual areas V1, V2, and V3 responded to either the motion- or the form-defined FoE shift. After V3, only the dorsal areas V3a and V3B/KO responded to such shifts. Furthermore, area V3B/KO shows a significantly higher decoding accuracy for the congruent than the incongruent stimuli. Our results provide direct evidence showing that area V3B/KO does not simply respond to motion and form cues but integrates these two cues for the perception of heading.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Human survival relies on accurate perception of self-motion. The visual system uses both motion (optic flow) and form cues for the perception of the direction of self-motion (heading). Although human brain areas for processing optic flow and form structure are well identified, the areas responsible for integrating these two cues for the perception of self-motion remain unknown. We conducted fMRI experiments and used multivoxel pattern analysis technique to find human brain areas that can decode the shift in heading specified by each cue alone and the two cues combined. We found that motion and form cues are first processed in the early visual areas and then are likely integrated in the higher dorsal area V3B/KO for the final estimation of heading.
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40
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Computational Mechanisms for Perceptual Stability using Disparity and Motion Parallax. J Neurosci 2020; 40:996-1014. [PMID: 31699889 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.0036-19.2019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2019] [Revised: 09/24/2019] [Accepted: 10/07/2019] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Walking and other forms of self-motion create global motion patterns across our eyes. With the resulting stream of visual signals, how do we perceive ourselves as moving through a stable world? Although the neural mechanisms are largely unknown, human studies (Warren and Rushton, 2009) provide strong evidence that the visual system is capable of parsing the global motion into two components: one due to self-motion and the other due to independently moving objects. In the present study, we use computational modeling to investigate potential neural mechanisms for stabilizing visual perception during self-motion that build on neurophysiology of the middle temporal (MT) and medial superior temporal (MST) areas. One such mechanism leverages direction, speed, and disparity tuning of cells in dorsal MST (MSTd) to estimate the combined motion parallax and disparity signals attributed to the observer's self-motion. Feedback from the most active MSTd cell subpopulations suppresses motion signals in MT that locally match the preference of the MSTd cell in both parallax and disparity. This mechanism combined with local surround inhibition in MT allows the model to estimate self-motion while maintaining a sparse motion representation that is compatible with perceptual stability. A key consequence is that after signals compatible with the observer's self-motion are suppressed, the direction of independently moving objects is represented in a world-relative rather than observer-relative reference frame. Our analysis explicates how temporal dynamics and joint motion parallax-disparity tuning resolve the world-relative motion of moving objects and establish perceptual stability. Together, these mechanisms capture findings on the perception of object motion during self-motion.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The image integrated by our eyes as we move through our environment undergoes constant flux as trees, buildings, and other surroundings stream by us. If our view can change so radically from one moment to the next, how do we perceive a stable world? Although progress has been made in understanding how this works, little is known about the underlying brain mechanisms. We propose a computational solution whereby multiple brain areas communicate to suppress the motion attributed to our movement relative to the stationary world, which is often responsible for a large proportion of the flux across the visual field. We simulated the proposed neural mechanisms and tested model estimates using data from human perceptual studies.
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41
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A model of how depth facilitates scene-relative object motion perception. PLoS Comput Biol 2019; 15:e1007397. [PMID: 31725723 PMCID: PMC6879150 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1007397] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2019] [Revised: 11/26/2019] [Accepted: 09/12/2019] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Many everyday interactions with moving objects benefit from an accurate perception of their movement. Self-motion, however, complicates object motion perception because it generates a global pattern of motion on the observer’s retina and radically influences an object’s retinal motion. There is strong evidence that the brain compensates by suppressing the retinal motion due to self-motion, however, this requires estimates of depth relative to the object—otherwise the appropriate self-motion component to remove cannot be determined. The underlying neural mechanisms are unknown, but neurons in brain areas MT and MST may contribute given their sensitivity to motion parallax and depth through joint direction, speed, and disparity tuning. We developed a neural model to investigate whether cells in areas MT and MST with well-established neurophysiological properties can account for human object motion judgments during self-motion. We tested the model by comparing simulated object motion signals to human object motion judgments in environments with monocular, binocular, and ambiguous depth. Our simulations show how precise depth information, such as that from binocular disparity, may improve estimates of the retinal motion pattern due the self-motion through increased selectivity among units that respond to the global self-motion pattern. The enhanced self-motion estimates emerged from recurrent feedback connections in MST and allowed the model to better suppress the appropriate direction, speed, and disparity signals from the object’s retinal motion, improving the accuracy of the object’s movement direction represented by motion signals. Research has shown that the accuracy with which humans perceive object motion during self-motion improves in the presence of stereo cues. Using a neural modelling approach, we explore whether this finding can be explained through improved estimation of the retinal motion induced by self-motion. Our results show that depth cues that provide information about scene structure may have a large effect on the specificity with which the neural mechanisms for motion perception represent the visual self-motion signal. This in turn enables effective removal of the retinal motion due to self-motion when the goal is to perceive object motion relative to the stationary world. These results reveal a hitherto unknown critical function of stereo tuning in the MT-MST complex, and shed important light on how the brain may recruit signals from upstream and downstream brain areas to simultaneously perceive self-motion and object motion.
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42
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Vection induced by low-level motion extracted from complex animation films. Exp Brain Res 2019; 237:3321-3332. [DOI: 10.1007/s00221-019-05674-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2019] [Accepted: 10/21/2019] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
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43
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Pitzalis S, Serra C, Sulpizio V, Committeri G, de Pasquale F, Fattori P, Galletti C, Sepe R, Galati G. Neural bases of self- and object-motion in a naturalistic vision. Hum Brain Mapp 2019; 41:1084-1111. [PMID: 31713304 PMCID: PMC7267932 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.24862] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2019] [Revised: 10/19/2019] [Accepted: 10/31/2019] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
To plan movements toward objects our brain must recognize whether retinal displacement is due to self-motion and/or to object-motion. Here, we aimed to test whether motion areas are able to segregate these types of motion. We combined an event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging experiment, brain mapping techniques, and wide-field stimulation to study the responsivity of motion-sensitive areas to pure and combined self- and object-motion conditions during virtual movies of a train running within a realistic landscape. We observed a selective response in MT to the pure object-motion condition, and in medial (PEc, pCi, CSv, and CMA) and lateral (PIC and LOR) areas to the pure self-motion condition. Some other regions (like V6) responded more to complex visual stimulation where both object- and self-motion were present. Among all, we found that some motion regions (V3A, LOR, MT, V6, and IPSmot) could extract object-motion information from the overall motion, recognizing the real movement of the train even when the images remain still (on the screen), or moved, because of self-movements. We propose that these motion areas might be good candidates for the "flow parsing mechanism," that is the capability to extract object-motion information from retinal motion signals by subtracting out the optic flow components.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sabrina Pitzalis
- Department of Movement, Human and Health Sciences, University of Rome Foro Italico, Rome, Italy.,Cognitive and Motor Rehabilitation Unit, Santa Lucia Foundation (IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia), Rome, Italy
| | - Chiara Serra
- Department of Movement, Human and Health Sciences, University of Rome Foro Italico, Rome, Italy.,Cognitive and Motor Rehabilitation Unit, Santa Lucia Foundation (IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia), Rome, Italy
| | - Valentina Sulpizio
- Cognitive and Motor Rehabilitation Unit, Santa Lucia Foundation (IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia), Rome, Italy.,Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Giorgia Committeri
- Laboratory of Neuropsychology and Cognitive Neuroscience, Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, and Institute for Advanced Biomedical Technologies (ITAB), University G. d'Annunzio, Chieti, Italy
| | - Francesco de Pasquale
- Laboratory of Neuropsychology and Cognitive Neuroscience, Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, and Institute for Advanced Biomedical Technologies (ITAB), University G. d'Annunzio, Chieti, Italy.,Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Teramo, Teramo, Italy
| | - Patrizia Fattori
- Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Claudio Galletti
- Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Rosamaria Sepe
- Laboratory of Neuropsychology and Cognitive Neuroscience, Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, and Institute for Advanced Biomedical Technologies (ITAB), University G. d'Annunzio, Chieti, Italy
| | - Gaspare Galati
- Cognitive and Motor Rehabilitation Unit, Santa Lucia Foundation (IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia), Rome, Italy.,Brain Imaging Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy
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44
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Pitzalis S, Serra C, Sulpizio V, Di Marco S, Fattori P, Galati G, Galletti C. A putative human homologue of the macaque area PEc. Neuroimage 2019; 202:116092. [PMID: 31408715 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.116092] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2019] [Accepted: 08/08/2019] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The cortical area PEc is anatomically and functionally well-defined in macaque, but it is unknown whether it has a counterpart in human. Since we know that macaque PEc, but not the nearby posterior regions, hosts a lower limb representation, in an attempt to recognize a possible human PEc we looked for the existence of leg representations in the human parietal cortex using individual cortical surface-based analysis, task-evoked paradigms and resting-state functional connectivity. fMRI images were acquired while thirty-one participants performed long-range leg movements through an in-house MRI-compatible set-up. We revealed the existence of multiple leg representations in the human dorsomedial parietal cortex, here defined as S-I (somatosensory-I), hPE (human PE, in the postcentral sulcus), and hPEc (human PEc, in the anterior precuneus). Among the three "leg" regions, hPEc had a unique functional profile, in that it was the only one responding to both arm and leg movements, to both hand-pointing and foot pointing movements, and to flow field visual stimulation, very similar to macaque area PEc. In addition, hPEc showed functional connections with the somatomotor regions hosting a lower limb representation, again as in macaque area PEc. Therefore, based on similarity in brain position, functional organization, cortical connections, and relationship with the neighboring areas, we propose that this cortical region is the human homologue of macaque area PEc.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sabrina Pitzalis
- Department of Movement, Human and Health Sciences, University of Rome ''Foro Italico", 00135, Rome, Italy; Department of Cognitive and Motor Rehabilitation and Neuroimaging, Santa Lucia Foundation (IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia), 00142, Rome, Italy.
| | - Chiara Serra
- Department of Movement, Human and Health Sciences, University of Rome ''Foro Italico", 00135, Rome, Italy; Department of Cognitive and Motor Rehabilitation and Neuroimaging, Santa Lucia Foundation (IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia), 00142, Rome, Italy
| | - Valentina Sulpizio
- Department of Cognitive and Motor Rehabilitation and Neuroimaging, Santa Lucia Foundation (IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia), 00142, Rome, Italy; Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, 40126, Bologna, Italy
| | - Sara Di Marco
- Department of Movement, Human and Health Sciences, University of Rome ''Foro Italico", 00135, Rome, Italy; Department of Cognitive and Motor Rehabilitation and Neuroimaging, Santa Lucia Foundation (IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia), 00142, Rome, Italy
| | - Patrizia Fattori
- Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, 40126, Bologna, Italy
| | - Gaspare Galati
- Department of Cognitive and Motor Rehabilitation and Neuroimaging, Santa Lucia Foundation (IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia), 00142, Rome, Italy; Brain Imaging Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Sapienza University, 00185, Rome, Italy
| | - Claudio Galletti
- Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, 40126, Bologna, Italy
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45
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Topographic Organization of the 'Third-Tier' Dorsomedial Visual Cortex in the Macaque. J Neurosci 2019; 39:5311-5325. [PMID: 31036760 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.0085-19.2019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2019] [Revised: 04/19/2019] [Accepted: 04/20/2019] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The boundaries of the visual areas located anterior to V2 in the dorsomedial region of the macaque cortex remain contentious. This region is usually conceptualized as including two functional subdivisions: the dorsal component of area V3 (V3d) laterally and another area named the parietooccipital area (PO) or V6 medially. However, the nature of the putative border between V3d and PO/V6 has remained undefined. We recorded the receptive fields of multiunit clusters in male macaques and reconstructed the locations of recording sites using histological sections and computer-generated maps. Immediately adjacent to dorsomedial V2, we observed a representation of the lower contralateral quadrant that represented the vertical meridian at its rostral border. This region formed a simple eccentricity gradient from ∼<5° in the annectant gyrus to >60° in the parietooccipital medial sulcus. There was no topographic reversal where one would expect to find the border between V3d and PO/V6. Rather, near the midline, this lower quadrant map continued directly into a representation of the peripheral upper visual field without an intervening lower quadrant representation. Therefore, cortex previously assigned to the medial part of V3d and to PO/V6 forms a single map that includes parts of both quadrants. Together with previous observations that V3d and PO/V6 are densely myelinated relative to adjacent cortex and share similar input from V1, these results suggest that they are parts of a single area (for which we suggest the designation V6), which is distinct from the one forming the ventral component of the third-tier complex.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The primate visual cortex has a large number of areas. Knowing the extent of each visual area and how they can be distinguished from each other is essential for the interpretation of experiments aimed at understanding visual processing. Currently, there are conflicting models of the organization of the dorsomedial visual cortex rostral to area V2 (one of the earliest stages of cortical processing of vision). By conducting large-scale electrophysiological recordings, we found that what were originally thought to be distinct areas in this region (dorsal V3 and the parietooccipital area PO/V6), together form a single map of the visual field. This will help to guide future functional studies and the interpretation of the outcomes of lesions involving the dorsal visual cortex.
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46
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Hughes AE, Greenwood JA, Finlayson NJ, Schwarzkopf DS. Population receptive field estimates for motion-defined stimuli. Neuroimage 2019; 199:245-260. [PMID: 31158480 PMCID: PMC6693563 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.05.068] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2019] [Accepted: 05/27/2019] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The processing of motion changes throughout the visual hierarchy, from spatially restricted ‘local motion’ in early visual cortex to more complex large-field ‘global motion’ at later stages. Here we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine spatially selective responses in these areas related to the processing of random-dot stimuli defined by differences in motion. We used population receptive field (pRF) analyses to map retinotopic cortex using bar stimuli comprising coherently moving dots. In the first experiment, we used three separate background conditions: no background dots (dot-defined bar-only), dots moving coherently in the opposite direction to the bar (kinetic boundary) and dots moving incoherently in random directions (global motion). Clear retinotopic maps were obtained for the bar-only and kinetic-boundary conditions across visual areas V1–V3 and in higher dorsal areas. For the global-motion condition, retinotopic maps were much weaker in early areas and became clear only in higher areas, consistent with the emergence of global-motion processing throughout the visual hierarchy. However, in a second experiment we demonstrate that this pattern is not specific to motion-defined stimuli, with very similar results for a transparent-motion stimulus and a bar defined by a static low-level property (dot size) that should have driven responses particularly in V1. We further exclude explanations based on stimulus visibility by demonstrating that the observed differences in pRF properties do not follow the ability of observers to localise or attend to these bar elements. Rather, our findings indicate that dorsal extrastriate retinotopic maps may primarily be determined by the visibility of the neural responses to the bar relative to the background response (i.e. neural signal-to-noise ratios) and suggests that claims about stimulus selectivity from pRF experiments must be interpreted with caution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna E Hughes
- Experimental Psychology, University College London, 26 Bedford Way, London, WC1H 0AP, UK.
| | - John A Greenwood
- Experimental Psychology, University College London, 26 Bedford Way, London, WC1H 0AP, UK
| | - Nonie J Finlayson
- Experimental Psychology, University College London, 26 Bedford Way, London, WC1H 0AP, UK
| | - D Samuel Schwarzkopf
- Experimental Psychology, University College London, 26 Bedford Way, London, WC1H 0AP, UK
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47
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Smith AT, Beer AL, Furlan M, Mars RB. Connectivity of the Cingulate Sulcus Visual Area (CSv) in the Human Cerebral Cortex. Cereb Cortex 2019; 28:713-725. [PMID: 28108496 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhx002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2016] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
The human cingulate sulcus visual area (CSv) responds selectively to visual and vestibular cues to self-motion. Although it is more selective for visual self-motion cues than any other brain region studied, it is not known whether CSv mediates perception of self-motion. An alternative hypothesis, based on its location, is that it provides sensory information to the motor system for use in guiding locomotion. To evaluate this hypothesis we studied the connectivity pattern of CSv, which is completely unknown, with a combination of diffusion MRI and resting-state functional MRI. Converging results from the 2 approaches suggest that visual drive is provided primarily by areas hV6, pVIP (putative intraparietal cortex) and PIC (posterior insular cortex). A strong connection with the medial portion of the somatosensory cortex, which represents the legs and feet, suggests that CSv may receive locomotion-relevant proprioceptive information as well as visual and vestibular signals. However, the dominant connections of CSv are with specific components of the motor system, in particular the cingulate motor areas and the supplementary motor area. We propose that CSv may provide a previously unknown link between perception and action that serves the online control of locomotion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew T Smith
- Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham TW20 0EX, UK
| | - Anton L Beer
- Institut für Psychologie, Universität Regensburg, 93053 Regensburg, Germany
| | - Michele Furlan
- Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham TW20 0EX, UK
| | - Rogier B Mars
- Department of Experimental Psychology and Centre for Functional fMRI of the Brain (FMRIB), Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 9DU, UK.,Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, 6525 EN Nijmegen, The Netherlands
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Zajac L, Burte H, Taylor HA, Killiany R. Self-reported navigation ability is associated with optic flow-sensitive regions' functional connectivity patterns during visual path integration. Brain Behav 2019; 9:e01236. [PMID: 30884216 PMCID: PMC6456774 DOI: 10.1002/brb3.1236] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2018] [Accepted: 01/16/2019] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Spatial navigation is a complex cognitive skill that varies between individuals, and the mechanisms underlying this variability are not clear. Studying simpler components of spatial navigation may help illuminate factors that contribute to variation in this complex skill; path integration is one such component. Optic flow provides self-motion information while moving through an environment and is sufficient for path integration. This study aims to investigate whether self-reported navigation ability is related to information transfer between optic flow-sensitive (OF-sensitive) cortical regions and regions important to navigation during environmental spatial tasks. METHODS Functional magnetic resonance imaging was used to define OF-sensitive regions and map their functional connectivity (FC) with the retrosplenial cortex and hippocampus during visual path integration (VPI) and turn counting (TC) tasks. Both tasks presented visual self-motion through a real-world environment. Correlations predicting a positive association between self-reported navigation ability (measured with the Santa Barbara Sense of Direction scale) and FC strength between OF-sensitive regions and retrosplenial cortex and OF-sensitive regions and the hippocampus were performed. RESULTS During VPI, FC strength between left cingulate sulcus visual area (L CSv) and right retrosplenial cortex and L CSv and right hippocampus was positively associated with self-reported navigation ability. FC strength between right cingulate sulcus visual area (R CSv) and right retrosplenial cortex during VPI was also positively associated with self-reported navigation ability. These relationships were specific to VPI, and whole-brain exploratory analyses corroborated these results. CONCLUSIONS These findings support the hypothesis that perceived spatial navigation ability is associated with communication strength between OF-sensitive and navigationally relevant regions during visual path integration, which may represent the transformation accuracy of visual motion information into internal spatial representations. More broadly, these results illuminate underlying mechanisms that may explain some variability in spatial navigation ability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lauren Zajac
- Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts.,Center for Biomedical Imaging, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Heather Burte
- Department of Psychology, Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts
| | - Holly A Taylor
- Department of Psychology, Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts
| | - Ronald Killiany
- Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts.,Center for Biomedical Imaging, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
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Serra C, Galletti C, Di Marco S, Fattori P, Galati G, Sulpizio V, Pitzalis S. Egomotion-related visual areas respond to active leg movements. Hum Brain Mapp 2019; 40:3174-3191. [PMID: 30924264 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.24589] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2018] [Revised: 03/07/2019] [Accepted: 03/20/2019] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Monkey neurophysiology and human neuroimaging studies have demonstrated that passive viewing of optic flow stimuli activates a cortical network of temporal, parietal, insular, and cingulate visual motion regions. Here, we tested whether the human visual motion areas involved in processing optic flow signals simulating self-motion are also activated by active lower limb movements, and hence are likely involved in guiding human locomotion. To this aim, we used a combined approach of task-evoked activity and resting-state functional connectivity by fMRI. We localized a set of six egomotion-responsive visual areas (V6+, V3A, intraparietal motion/ventral intraparietal [IPSmot/VIP], cingulate sulcus visual area [CSv], posterior cingulate sulcus area [pCi], posterior insular cortex [PIC]) by using optic flow. We tested their response to a motor task implying long-range active leg movements. Results revealed that, among these visually defined areas, CSv, pCi, and PIC responded to leg movements (visuomotor areas), while V6+, V3A, and IPSmot/VIP did not (visual areas). Functional connectivity analysis showed that visuomotor areas are connected to the cingulate motor areas, the supplementary motor area, and notably to the medial portion of the somatosensory cortex, which represents legs and feet. We suggest that CSv, pCi, and PIC perform the visual analysis of egomotion-like signals to provide sensory information to the motor system with the aim of guiding locomotion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chiara Serra
- Department of Movement, Human and Health Sciences, University of Rome "Foro Italico", 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
| | - Sara Di Marco
- Department of Movement, Human and Health Sciences, University of Rome "Foro Italico", 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
- Department of Cognitive and Motor Rehabilitation and Neuroimaging, Santa Lucia Foundation (IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia), Rome, Italy.,Brain Imaging Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy
| | - Valentina Sulpizio
- Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Sabrina Pitzalis
- Department of Movement, Human and Health Sciences, University of Rome "Foro Italico", Rome, Italy.,Department of Cognitive and Motor Rehabilitation and Neuroimaging, Santa Lucia Foundation (IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia), Rome, Italy
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Richter M, Amunts K, Mohlberg H, Bludau S, Eickhoff SB, Zilles K, Caspers S. Cytoarchitectonic segregation of human posterior intraparietal and adjacent parieto-occipital sulcus and its relation to visuomotor and cognitive functions. Cereb Cortex 2019; 29:1305-1327. [PMID: 30561508 PMCID: PMC6373694 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhy245] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2018] [Revised: 07/27/2018] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Human posterior intraparietal sulcus (pIPS) and adjacent posterior wall of parieto-occipital sulcus (POS) are functionally diverse, serving higher motor, visual and cognitive functions. Its microstructural basis, though, is still largely unknown. A similar or even more pronounced architectonical complexity, as described in monkeys, could be assumed. We cytoarchitectonically mapped the pIPS/POS in 10 human postmortem brains using an observer-independent, quantitative parcellation. 3D-probability maps were generated within MNI reference space and used for functional decoding and meta-analytic coactivation modeling based on the BrainMap database to decode the general structural-functional organization of the areas. Seven cytoarchitectonically distinct areas were identified: five within human pIPS, three on its lateral (hIP4-6) and two on its medial wall (hIP7-8); and two (hPO1, hOc6) in POS. Mediocaudal areas (hIP7, hPO1) were predominantly involved in visual processing, whereas laterorostral areas (hIP4-6, 8) were associated with higher cognitive functions, e.g. counting. This shift was mirrored by systematic changes in connectivity, from temporo-occipital to premotor and prefrontal cortex, and in cytoarchitecture, from prominent Layer IIIc pyramidal cells to homogeneous neuronal distribution. This architectonical mosaic within human pIPS/POS represents a structural basis of its functional and connectional heterogeneity. The new 3D-maps of the areas enable dedicated assessments of structure-function relationships.
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Affiliation(s)
- Monika Richter
- C. and O. Vogt Institute for Brain Research, Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Katrin Amunts
- C. and O. Vogt Institute for Brain Research, Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-1), Research Centre Jülich, Jülich, Germany
- JARA-BRAIN, Jülich-Aachen Research Alliance, 52425 Jülich, Germany
| | - Hartmut Mohlberg
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-1), Research Centre Jülich, Jülich, Germany
| | - Sebastian Bludau
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-1), Research Centre Jülich, Jülich, Germany
| | - Simon B Eickhoff
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine, Brain & Behaviour (INM-7), Research Centre Jülich, Jülich, Germany
- Institute for Systems Neuroscience, Medical Faculty, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Karl Zilles
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-1), Research Centre Jülich, Jülich, Germany
- JARA-BRAIN, Jülich-Aachen Research Alliance, 52425 Jülich, Germany
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | - Svenja Caspers
- C. and O. Vogt Institute for Brain Research, Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-1), Research Centre Jülich, Jülich, Germany
- JARA-BRAIN, Jülich-Aachen Research Alliance, 52425 Jülich, Germany
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