Similar cortical correlates underlie visual object identification and orientation judgment.
Visual object perception has been suggested to follow two different routes in the human brain: a ventral, view-invariant occipital-temporal route processes object identity, whereas a dorsal, view-dependent occipital-parietal route processes spatial properties of an object. Using fMRI, we addressed the question whether these routes are exclusively involved in either object recognition or spatial representation. We presented subjects with images of natural objects and involved them either in object identification or object orientation judgment task. For both tasks, we observed activation in ventro-temporal as well as parietal areas bilaterally, with significantly stronger responses for the orientation judgment in both ventro-temporal as well as parietal areas. Our findings suggest that object identification and orientation judgment do not follow strictly separable cortical pathways, but rather involve both the dorsal and the ventral stream.
Altmann
Christian F
CF
Section Neuropsychology, Department of Cognitive Neurology, Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
Grodd
Wolfgang
W
Kourtzi
Zoe
Z
Bülthoff
Heinrich H
HH
Karnath
Hans-Otto
HO
D000328:Adult; D001931:Brain Mapping; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000098:blood supply / Q000502:physiology*; D004192:Discrimination, Psychological / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods; D007600:Judgment / Q000502:physiology*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D009949:Orientation / Q000502:physiology*; D010100:Oxygen / Q000097:blood; D010775:Photic Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D013997:Time Factors; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology*
D010100:Oxygen