The ""Parahippocampal Place Area"" Responds Preferentially to High Spatial Frequencies in Humans and Monkeys

• Main Authors: Rajimehr, Reza (Contributor), Devaney, Kathryn J. (Author), Bilenko, Natalia Y. (Author), Young, Jeremy C. (Author), Tootell, Roger B. H. (Contributor)
• Other Authors: Harvard University- (Contributor), McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT (Contributor)
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Public Library of Science, 2011-09-19T13:23:58Z.
• Subjects: Article
• Online Access: Get fulltext

Defining the exact mechanisms by which the brain processes visual objects and scenes remains an unresolved challenge. Valuable clues to this process have emerged from the demonstration that clusters of neurons ("modules") in inferior temporal cortex apparently respond selectively to specific categories of visual stimuli, such as places/scenes. However, the higher-order "category-selective" response could also reflect specific lower-level spatial factors. Here we tested this idea in multiple functional MRI experiments, in humans and macaque monkeys, by systematically manipulating the spatial content of geometrical shapes and natural images. These tests revealed that visual spatial discontinuities (as reflected by an increased response to high spatial frequencies) selectively activate a well-known place-selective region of visual cortex (the "parahippocampal place area") in humans. In macaques, we demonstrate a homologous cortical area, and show that it also responds selectively to higher spatial frequencies. The parahippocampal place area may use such information for detecting object borders and scene details during spatial perception and navigation.
National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (NIH Grant R01 MH6752)
National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (grant R01 EY017081)
Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging
National Center for Research Resources (U.S.)
Mind Research Institute