fMRI Responses to Video and Point-Light Displays of Moving Humans and Manipulable Objects

We used fMRI to study the organization of brain responses to different types of complex visual motion. In a rapid eventrelated design, subjects viewed video clips of humans performing different whole-body motions, video clips of manmade manipulable objects (tools) moving with their characteristic natural motion, point-light displays of human whole-body motion, and point-light displays of manipulable objects. The lateral temporal cortex showed strong responses to both moving videos and moving point-light displays, supporting the hypothesis that the lateral temporal cortex is the cortical locus for processing complex visual motion. Within the lateral temporal cortex, we observed segregated responses to different types of motion. The superior temporal sulcus (STS) responded strongly to human videos and human point-light displays, while the middle temporal gyrus (MTG) and the inferior temporal sulcus responded strongly to tool videos and tool point-light displays. In the ventral temporal cortex, the lateral fusiform responded more to human videos than to any other stimulus category while the medial fusiform preferred tool videos. The relatively weak responses observed to point-light displays in the ventral temporal cortex suggests that form, color, and texture (present in video but not point-light displays) are the main contributors to ventral temporal activity. In contrast, in the lateral temporal cortex, the MTG responded as strongly to point-light displays as to videos, suggesting that motion is the key determinant of response in the MTG. Whereas the STS responded strongly to point-light displays, it showed an even larger response to video displays, suggesting that the STS integrates form, color, and motion information.

[1]  B. Gandevia,et al.  DECLARATION OF HELSINKI. , 1964, The Medical journal of Australia.

[2]  G. Johansson.  Visual perception of biological motion and a model for its analysis , 1973 .

[3]  R. Fox,et al.  The perception of biological motion by human infants. , 1982, Science.

[4]  Leslie G. Ungerleider,et al.  Cortical connections of visual area MT in the macaque , 1986, The Journal of comparative neurology.

[5]  A. J. Mistlin,et al.  Specialized face processing and hemispheric asymmetry in man and monkey: Evidence from single unit and reaction time studies , 1988, Behavioural Brain Research.

[6]  S. Zeki,et al.  A century of cerebral achromatopsia. , 1990, Brain : a journal of neurology.

[7]  K. Nakayama,et al.  Intact “biological motion” and “structure from motion” perception in a patient with impaired motion mechanisms: A case study , 1990, Visual Neuroscience.

[8]  M. Corbetta,et al.  Selective and divided attention during visual discriminations of shape, color, and speed: functional anatomy by positron emission tomography , 1991, The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience.

[9]  D. Perrett,et al.  Responses of Anterior Superior Temporal Polysensory (STPa) Neurons to Biological Motion Stimuli , 1994, Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience.

[10]  K. Tanaka,et al.  Comparison of neuronal selectivity for stimulus speed, length, and contrast in the prestriate visual cortical areas V4 and MT of the macaque monkey. , 1994, Journal of neurophysiology.

[11]  G. Orban,et al.  Many areas in the human brain respond to visual motion. , 1994, Journal of neurophysiology.

[12]  G. Mather,et al.  Gender discrimination in biological motion displays based on dynamic cues , 1994, Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences.

[13]  R. Malach,et al.  Object-related activity revealed by functional magnetic resonance imaging in human occipital cortex. , 1995, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[14]  Alan C. Evans,et al.  Specific Involvement of Human Parietal Systems and the Amygdala in the Perception of Biological Motion , 1996, The Journal of Neuroscience.

[15]  D. Perrett,et al.  Integration of form and motion in the anterior superior temporal polysensory area (STPa) of the macaque monkey. , 1996, Journal of neurophysiology.

[16]  Edward T. Bullmore,et al.  A direct demonstration of functional specialization within motion-related visual and auditory cortex of the human brain , 1996, Current Biology.

[17]  R W Cox,et al.  AFNI: software for analysis and visualization of functional magnetic resonance neuroimages. , 1996, Computers and biomedical research, an international journal.

[18]  Leslie G. Ungerleider,et al.  Neural correlates of category-specific knowledge , 1996, Nature.

[19]  P. McLeod,et al.  Preserved and Impaired Detection of Structure From Motion by a 'Motion-blind" Patient , 1996 .

[20]  Scott T. Grafton,et al.  Premotor Cortex Activation during Observation and Naming of Familiar Tools , 1997, NeuroImage.

[21]  D H Brainard,et al.  The Psychophysics Toolbox. , 1997, Spatial vision.

[22]  N. Kanwisher,et al.  The Fusiform Face Area: A Module in Human Extrastriate Cortex Specialized for Face Perception , 1997, The Journal of Neuroscience.

[23]  D G Pelli,et al.  The VideoToolbox software for visual psychophysics: transforming numbers into movies. , 1997, Spatial vision.

[24]  T. Allison,et al.  Temporal Cortex Activation in Humans Viewing Eye and Mouth Movements , 1998, The Journal of Neuroscience.

[25]  Nancy Kanwisher,et al.  A cortical representation of the local visual environment , 1998, Nature.

[26]  L. Optican,et al.  Cortical regions involved in visual texture perception: a fMRI study. , 1998, Brain research. Cognitive brain research.

[27]  P. Cavanagh,et al.  Retinotopy and color sensitivity in human visual cortical area V8 , 1998, Nature Neuroscience.

[28]  M. D’Esposito,et al.  An Area within Human Ventral Cortex Sensitive to “Building” Stimuli Evidence and Implications , 1998, Neuron.

[29]  Anders M. Dale,et al.  Cortical Surface-Based Analysis I. Segmentation and Surface Reconstruction , 1999, NeuroImage.

[30]  J. Haxby,et al.  Attribute-based neural substrates in temporal cortex for perceiving and knowing about objects , 1999, Nature Neuroscience.

[31]  G. Glover.  Deconvolution of Impulse Response in Event-Related BOLD fMRI1 , 1999, NeuroImage.

[32]  T. Lancet,et al.  Declaration of Helsinki-nothing to declare? , 1999, The Lancet.

[33]  Leslie G. Ungerleider,et al.  Distributed representation of objects in the human ventral visual pathway. , 1999, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[34]  R. Blake,et al.  Perception of coherent motion, biological motion and form-from-motion under dim-light conditions , 1999, Vision Research.

[35]  Jonathan E. Jennings,et al.  An fMRI version of the Farnsworth-Munsell 100-Hue test reveals multiple color-selective areas in human ventral occipitotemporal cortex. , 1999, Cerebral cortex.

[36]  A. Dale,et al.  Cortical Surface-Based Analysis II: Inflation, Flattening, and a Surface-Based Coordinate System , 1999, NeuroImage.

[37]  A M Dale,et al.  Optimal experimental design for event‐related fMRI , 1999, Human brain mapping.

[38]  Leslie G. Ungerleider,et al.  The Effect of Face Inversion on Activity in Human Neural Systems for Face and Object Perception , 1999, Neuron.

[39]  S. Edelman,et al.  Differential Processing of Objects under Various Viewing Conditions in the Human Lateral Occipital Complex , 1999, Neuron.

[40]  M. Gazzaniga,et al.  The new cognitive neurosciences , 2000 .

[41]  A. Cowey,et al.  Blindness to form from motion despite intact static form perception and motion detection , 2000, Neuropsychologia.

[42]  R. Blake,et al.  Brain Areas Involved in Perception of Biological Motion , 2000, Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience.

[43]  T. Allison,et al.  Social perception from visual cues: role of the STS region , 2000, Trends in Cognitive Sciences.

[44]  Alex Martin,et al.  Representation of Manipulable Man-Made Objects in the Dorsal Stream , 2000, NeuroImage.

[45]  P. Sinha,et al.  Functional neuroanatomy of biological motion perception in humans , 2001, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[46]  B. Bertenthal,et al.  Does Perception of Biological Motion Rely on Specific Brain Regions? , 2001, NeuroImage.

[47]  Talma Hendler,et al.  Center–periphery organization of human object areas , 2001, Nature Neuroscience.

[48]  A Puce,et al.  Human neural responses elicited to observing the actions of others , 2001, Visual Neuroscience.

[49]  T. Hendler,et al.  A hierarchical axis of object processing stages in the human visual cortex. , 2001, Cerebral cortex.

[50]  R. Blake,et al.  Brain activity evoked by inverted and imagined biological motion , 2001, Vision Research.

[51]  A. Ishai,et al.  Distributed and Overlapping Representations of Faces and Objects in Ventral Temporal Cortex , 2001, Science.

[52]  Adrian L. Williams,et al.  Task-Related Changes in Cortical Synchronization Are Spatially Coincident with the Hemodynamic Response , 2002, NeuroImage.

[53]  Alex Martin,et al.  Experience-dependent modulation of category-related cortical activity. , 2002, Cerebral cortex.

[54]  H. Chertkow,et al.  Semantic memory , 2002, Current neurology and neuroscience reports.

[55]  Rieko Osu,et al.  The Neural Substrates of Biological Motion Perception: an fMRI Study , 2022 .

[56]  J. Haxby,et al.  Parallel Visual Motion Processing Streams for Manipulable Objects and Human Movements , 2002, Neuron.

[57]  R. Blake,et al.  Brain Areas Active during Visual Perception of Biological Motion , 2002, Neuron.

[58]  Karl J. Friston,et al.  Anatomic Constraints on Cognitive Theories of Category Specificity , 2002, NeuroImage.

[59]  Umberto Castiello,et al.  The human temporal lobe integrates facial form and motion: evidence from fMRI and ERP studies , 2003, NeuroImage.

[60]  Aina Puce,et al.  Viewing the motion of human body parts activates different regions of premotor, temporal, and parietal cortex , 2004, NeuroImage.

[61]  B. Argall,et al.  Integration of Auditory and Visual Information about Objects in Superior Temporal Sulcus , 2004, Neuron.

[62]  Kevin A. Pelphrey,et al.  Grasping the Intentions of Others: The Perceived Intentionality of an Action Influences Activity in the Superior Temporal Sulcus during Social Perception , 2004, Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience.

[63]  Q. Vuong,et al.  Incidental Processing of Biological Motion , 2004, Current Biology.

[64]  P. Downing,et al.  The effect of viewpoint on body representation in the extrastriate body area , 2004, Neuroreport.

[65]  Randolph Blake,et al.  Learning to See Biological Motion: Brain Activity Parallels Behavior , 2004, Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience.

[66]  Scott T. Grafton,et al.  A distributed left hemisphere network active during planning of everyday tool use skills. , 2004, Cerebral cortex.