Differential processing of objects under various viewing conditions in the human lateral occipital complex

Kalanit Grill-Spector, Tammar Kushnir, Shimon Edelman, Galia Avidan, Yacov Itzchak, Rafael Malach

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

1019 Scopus citations

Abstract

The invariant properties of human cortical neurons cannot be studied directly by fMRI due to its limited spatial resolution. Here, we circumvented this limitation by using fMR adaptation, namely, reduction of the fMR signal due to repeated presentation of identical images. Object-selective regions (lateral occipital complex [LOC]) showed a monotonic signal decrease as repetition frequency increased. The invariant properties of fMR adaptation were studied by presenting the same object in different viewing conditions. LOC exhibited stronger fMR adaptation to changes in size and position (more invariance) compared to illumination and viewpoint. The effect revealed two putative subdivisions within LOC: caudal-dorsal (LO), which exhibited substantial recovery from adaptation under all transformations, and posterior fusiform (PF/LOa), which displayed stronger adaptation. This study demonstrates the utility of fMR adaptation for revealing functional characteristics of neurons in fMRI studies.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)187-203
Number of pages17
JournalNeuron
Volume24
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Jan 1999
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Neuroscience

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