Moving and Static Faces, Bodies, Objects, and Scenes Are Differentially Represented across the Three Visual Pathways

Emel Küçük; Matthew Foxwell; Daniel Sebastian Kaiser; David James Pitcher

doi:10.1162/jocn_a_02139

Moving and Static Faces, Bodies, Objects, and Scenes Are Differentially Represented across the Three Visual Pathways

Emel Küçük, Matthew Foxwell, Daniel Sebastian Kaiser, David James Pitcher

Psychology

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Models of human cortex propose the existence of neuroanatomical pathways specialized for different behavioral functions. These pathways include a ventral pathway for object recognition, a dorsal pathway for performing visually guided physical actions, and a recently proposed third pathway for social perception. In the current study, we tested the hypothesis that different categories of moving stimuli are differentially processed across the dorsal and third pathways according to their behavioral implications. Human participants (n = 30) were scanned with fMRI while viewing moving and static stimuli from four categories (faces, bodies, scenes, and objects). A whole-brain group analysis showed that moving bodies and moving objects increased neural responses in the bilateral posterior parietal cortex, parts of the dorsal pathway. By contrast, moving faces and moving bodies increased neural responses, the superior temporal sulcus, part of the third pathway. This pattern of results was also supported by a separate ROI analysis showing that moving stimuli produced more robust neural responses for all visual object categories, particularly in lateral and dorsal brain areas. Our results suggest that dynamic naturalistic stimuli from different categories are routed in specific visual pathways that process dissociable behavioral functions.

Original language	English
Number of pages	13
Journal	Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1162/jocn_a_02139
Publication status	E-pub ahead of print - 22 Mar 2024

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10.1162/jocn_a_02139

Cite this

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abstract = "Models of human cortex propose the existence of neuroanatomical pathways specialized for different behavioral functions. These pathways include a ventral pathway for object recognition, a dorsal pathway for performing visually guided physical actions, and a recently proposed third pathway for social perception. In the current study, we tested the hypothesis that different categories of moving stimuli are differentially processed across the dorsal and third pathways according to their behavioral implications. Human participants (n = 30) were scanned with fMRI while viewing moving and static stimuli from four categories (faces, bodies, scenes, and objects). A whole-brain group analysis showed that moving bodies and moving objects increased neural responses in the bilateral posterior parietal cortex, parts of the dorsal pathway. By contrast, moving faces and moving bodies increased neural responses, the superior temporal sulcus, part of the third pathway. This pattern of results was also supported by a separate ROI analysis showing that moving stimuli produced more robust neural responses for all visual object categories, particularly in lateral and dorsal brain areas. Our results suggest that dynamic naturalistic stimuli from different categories are routed in specific visual pathways that process dissociable behavioral functions.",

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