Primary visual cortex activity along the apparent-motion trace reflects illusory perception.

The illusion of apparent motion can be induced when visual stimuli are successively presented at different locations. It has been shown in previous studies that motion-sensitive regions in extrastriate cortex are relevant for the processing of apparent motion, but it is unclear whether primary visua...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2005-08-01
Series:PLoS Biology
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.0030265
id doaj-817c81906cd448b399e881e4886f5743
record_format Article
spelling doaj-817c81906cd448b399e881e4886f57432021-07-02T02:23:22ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS Biology1544-91731545-78852005-08-0138e265Primary visual cortex activity along the apparent-motion trace reflects illusory perception.The illusion of apparent motion can be induced when visual stimuli are successively presented at different locations. It has been shown in previous studies that motion-sensitive regions in extrastriate cortex are relevant for the processing of apparent motion, but it is unclear whether primary visual cortex (V1) is also involved in the representation of the illusory motion path. We investigated, in human subjects, apparent-motion-related activity in patches of V1 representing locations along the path of illusory stimulus motion using functional magnetic resonance imaging. Here we show that apparent motion caused a blood-oxygenation-level-dependent response along the V1 representations of the apparent-motion path, including regions that were not directly activated by the apparent-motion-inducing stimuli. This response was unaltered when participants had to perform an attention-demanding task that diverted their attention away from the stimulus. With a bistable motion quartet, we confirmed that the activity was related to the conscious perception of movement. Our data suggest that V1 is part of the network that represents the illusory path of apparent motion. The activation in V1 can be explained either by lateral interactions within V1 or by feedback mechanisms from higher visual areas, especially the motion-sensitive human MT/V5 complex.http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.0030265
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
title Primary visual cortex activity along the apparent-motion trace reflects illusory perception.
spellingShingle Primary visual cortex activity along the apparent-motion trace reflects illusory perception.
PLoS Biology
title_short Primary visual cortex activity along the apparent-motion trace reflects illusory perception.
title_full Primary visual cortex activity along the apparent-motion trace reflects illusory perception.
title_fullStr Primary visual cortex activity along the apparent-motion trace reflects illusory perception.
title_full_unstemmed Primary visual cortex activity along the apparent-motion trace reflects illusory perception.
title_sort primary visual cortex activity along the apparent-motion trace reflects illusory perception.
publisher Public Library of Science (PLoS)
series PLoS Biology
issn 1544-9173
1545-7885
publishDate 2005-08-01
description The illusion of apparent motion can be induced when visual stimuli are successively presented at different locations. It has been shown in previous studies that motion-sensitive regions in extrastriate cortex are relevant for the processing of apparent motion, but it is unclear whether primary visual cortex (V1) is also involved in the representation of the illusory motion path. We investigated, in human subjects, apparent-motion-related activity in patches of V1 representing locations along the path of illusory stimulus motion using functional magnetic resonance imaging. Here we show that apparent motion caused a blood-oxygenation-level-dependent response along the V1 representations of the apparent-motion path, including regions that were not directly activated by the apparent-motion-inducing stimuli. This response was unaltered when participants had to perform an attention-demanding task that diverted their attention away from the stimulus. With a bistable motion quartet, we confirmed that the activity was related to the conscious perception of movement. Our data suggest that V1 is part of the network that represents the illusory path of apparent motion. The activation in V1 can be explained either by lateral interactions within V1 or by feedback mechanisms from higher visual areas, especially the motion-sensitive human MT/V5 complex.
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.0030265
_version_ 1721343381823553536