Preserved Object Weight Processing after Bilateral Lateral Occipital Complex Lesions

New evidence for the sensorimotor mismatch theory of weight perception and the size-weight illusion

The size-weight illusion is a phenomenon where a smaller object is perceived heavier than an equally weighted larger object. The sensorimotor mismatch theory proposed that this illusion occurs because of a mismatch between efferent motor commands and afferent sensory feedback received when lifting large and small objects (i.e., the application of too little and too much lifting force, respectively). This explanation has been undermined by studies demonstrating a separation between the perceived weight of objects and the lifting forces that are applied on them. However, this research suffers from inconsistencies in the choice of lifting force measures reported. Therefore, we examined the contribution of sensorimotor mismatch in the perception of weight in the size-weight illusion and in non-size-weight illusion stimuli and evaluated the use of a lifting force aggregate measure comprising the four most common lifting force measures used in previous research. In doing so, the sensorimotor mismatch theory was mostly supported. In a size-weight illusion experiment, the lifting forces correlated with weight perception and, contrary to some earlier research, did not adapt over time. In a non-size-weight illusion experiment, switches between lifting light and heavy objects resulted in perceiving the weight of these objects differently compared to no switch trials, which mirrored differences in the manner participants applied forces on the objects. Additionally, we reveal that our force aggregate measure can allow for a more sensitive and objective examination of the effects of lifting forces on objects.

A study on brain neuronal activation based on the load in upper limb exercise (STROBE)

This study aimed to determine the level of brain activation in separate regions, including the lobes, cerebellum, and limbic system, depending on the weight of an object during elbow flexion and extension exercise using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The study was conducted on ten male undergraduates (22.4 ± 1.2 years). The functional images of the brain were obtained using the 3T MRI. The participants performed upper limb flexion and extension exercise at a constant speed and as the weight of the object for lifting was varied (0 g and 1000 g). The experiment consisted of four blocks that constituted 8 minutes. Each block was designed to comprise a rest phase (1 minute) and a lifting phase (1 minute). The results showed that, in the parietal lobe, the activation was higher for the 0 g-motion condition than for the 1000 g-motion condition; however, in the occipital lobe, cerebellum, sub-lobar, and limbic system, the activation was higher for the 1000 g-motion condition than for the 0 g-motion condition. The brain region for the perception of object weight was identified as the ventral area (occipital, temporal, and frontal lobe), and the activation of the ventral pathway is suggested to have increased as the object came into vision and as its shape, size, and weight were perceived. For holding an object in hand, compared to not holding it, the exercise load was greater for controlling the motion to maintain the posture (arm angle at 90°), controlling the speed to repeat the motion at a constant speed, and producing an accurate posing. Therefore, to maintain such varied conditions, the activation level increased in the regions associated with control and regulation through the motion coordination from vision to arm movements (control of muscles). A characteristic reduced activation was observed in the regions associated with visuo-vestibular interaction and voluntary movement when the exercise involved lifting a 1000-g object compared to the exercise without object lifting.

The effects of TMS over the anterior intraparietal area on anticipatory fingertip force scaling and the size-weight illusion

When lifting an object skillfully, fingertip forces need to be carefully scaled to the object's weight, which can be inferred from its apparent size and material. This anticipatory force scaling ensures smooth and efficient lifting movements. However, even with accurate motor plans, weight perception can still be biased. In the size-weight illusion, objects of different size but equal weight are perceived to differ in heaviness, with the small object perceived to be heavier than the large object. The neural underpinnings of anticipatory force scaling to object size and the size-weight illusion are largely unknown. In this study, we tested the role of anterior intraparietal cortex (aIPS) in predictive force scaling and the size-weight illusion, by applying continuous theta burst stimulation (cTBS) prior to participants lifting objects of different sizes. Participants received cTBS over aIPS, the primary motor cortex (control area), or Sham stimulation. We found no evidence that aIPS stimulation affected the size-weight illusion. Effects were, however, found on anticipatory force scaling, where grip force was less tuned to object size during initial lifts. These findings suggest that aIPS is not involved in the perception of object weight but plays a transient role in the sensorimotor predictions related to object size. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Skilled object manipulation requires forming anticipatory motor plans according to the object's properties. Here, we demonstrate the role of anterior intraparietal sulcus (aIPS) in anticipatory grip force scaling to object size, particularly during initial lifting experience. Interestingly, this role was not maintained after continued practice and was not related to perceptual judgments measured with the size-weight illusion.

Retrospective study of late radiation-induced damages after focal radiotherapy for childhood brain tumors

PURPOSE

To study a robust and reproducible procedure to investigate a relation between focal brain radiotherapy (RT) low doses, neurocognitive impairment and late White Matter and Gray Matter alterations, as shown by Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI), in children.

METHODS AND MATERIALS

Forty-five patients (23 males and 22 females, median age at RT 6.2 years, median age at evaluations 11.1 years) who had received focal RT for brain tumors were recruited for DTI exams and neurocognitive tests. Patients' brains were parceled in 116 regions of interest (ROIs) using an available segmented atlas. After the development of an ad hoc, home-made, multimodal and highly deformable registration framework, we collected mean RT doses and DTI metrics values for each ROI. The pattern of association between cognitive scores or domains and dose or DTI values was assessed in each ROI through both considering and excluding ROIs with mean doses higher than 75% of the prescription. Subsequently, a preliminary threshold value of dose discriminating patients with and without neurocognitive impairment was selected for the most relevant associations.

RESULTS

The workflow allowed us to identify 10 ROIs where RT dose and DTI metrics were significantly associated with cognitive tests results (p<0.05). In 5/10 ROIs, RT dose and cognitive tests were associated with p<0.01 and preliminary RT threshold dose values, implying a possible cognitive or neuropsychological damage, were calculated. The analysis of domains showed that the most involved one was the "school-related activities".

CONCLUSION

This analysis, despite being conducted on a retrospective cohort of children, shows that the identification of critical brain structures and respective radiation dose thresholds is achievable by combining, with appropriate methodological tools, the large amount of data arising from different sources. This supported the design of a prospective study to gain stronger evidence.

The size-weight illusion in visual form agnosic patient DF

The size-weight illusion is a perceptual illusion where smaller objects are judged as heavier than equally weighted larger objects. A previous informal report suggests that visual form agnosic patient DF does not experience the size-weight illusion when vision is the only available cue to object size. We tested this experimentally, comparing the magnitudes of DF's visual, kinesthetic and visual-kinesthetic size-weight illusions to those of 28 similarly-aged controls. A modified t-test found that DF's visual size-weight illusion was significantly smaller than that of controls (z_cc = -1.7). A test of simple dissociation based on the Revised Standardized Difference Test found that the discrepancy between the magnitude of DF's visual and kinesthetic size-weight illusions was not significantly different from that of controls (z_dcc = -1.054), thereby failing to establish a dissociation between the visual and kinesthetic conditions. These results are consistent with previous suggestions that visual form agnosia, following ventral visual stream damage, is associated with an abnormally reduced size-weight illusion. The results, however, do not confirm that this reduction is specific to the use of visual size cues to predict object weight, rather than reflecting more general changes in the processing of object size cues or in the use of predictive strategies for lifting.

How the brain represents mass

New fMRI experiments and machine learning are helping to identify how the mass of objects is processed in the brain.

Invariant representations of mass in the human brain

An intuitive understanding of physical objects and events is critical for successfully interacting with the world. Does the brain achieve this understanding by running simulations in a mental physics engine, which represents variables such as force and mass, or by analyzing patterns of motion without encoding underlying physical quantities? To investigate, we scanned participants with fMRI while they viewed videos of objects interacting in scenarios indicating their mass. Decoding analyses in brain regions previously implicated in intuitive physical inference revealed mass representations that generalized across variations in scenario, material, friction, and motion energy. These invariant representations were found during tasks without action planning, and tasks focusing on an orthogonal dimension (object color). Our results support an account of physical reasoning where abstract physical variables serve as inputs to a forward model of dynamics, akin to a physics engine, in parietal and frontal cortex.