title: Neuromagnetic evoked responses to complex motions are greatest for expansion.
abstract: We analysed evoked magnetic responses to moving random dot stimuli, initially using a 19-channel magnetoencephalography (MEG) system, and subsequently using a 151-channel MEG system. Random dot displays were used to construct complex motion sequences, which we refer to as expansion, contraction, deformation, and rotation. We also investigated lateral translation and a condition in which the directions of the dots were randomised. In all stimulus conditions, the dots were first stationary, then traveled for a brief period (317 s or 542 ms), and were then stationary again. In all conditions, evoked magnetic responses were observed with a widespread bilateral distribution over the observers' heads. Initial recordings revealed a substantially larger evoked magnetic response to the expansion condition than the other conditions. In a revised study, we used a 151-channel MEG system and two stimulus diameters (9.3 and 48 deg), the smaller comparable with the first experiment. The responses were analysed using a nonparametric approach and confirmed our initial observations. In a third study, speed gradients were removed and a new design permitted direct comparisons between motion conditions. The results from all three experiments are consistent with the greater ecological validity of the expansion stimulus.
authors.affiliation: The Wellcome Trust Laboratory for MEG Studies, Neurosciences Research Institute, Aston University, Birmingham, B4 7ET, UK. i.e.holliday@aston.ac.uk
authors.forename: Ian E
authors.initials: IE
authors.lastname: Holliday
authors.forename: Tim S
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Meese
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D005071:Evoked Potentials / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D015225:Magnetoencephalography; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009038:Motion; D009039:Motion Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D009903:Optical Illusions / Q000502:physiology; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual / Q000502:physiology; D010775:Photic Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D011601:Psychophysics / Q000379:methods; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D012399:Rotation; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D013997:Time Factors