Nature versus nurture in ventral visual cortex: a functional magnetic resonance imaging study of twins.
Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we estimated neural activity in twins to study genetic influences on the cortical response to categories of visual stimuli (faces, places, and pseudowords) that are known to elicit distinct patterns of activity in ventral visual cortex. The neural activity patterns in monozygotic twins were significantly more similar than in dizygotic twins for the face and place stimuli, but there was no effect of zygosity for pseudowords (or chairs, a control category). These results demonstrate that genetics play a significant role in determining the cortical response to faces and places, but play a significantly smaller role (if any) in the response to orthographic stimuli.
Polk
Thad A
TA
Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA. tpolk@umich.edu
Park
Joonkoo
J
Smith
Mason R
MR
Park
Denise C
DC
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D005819:Genetic Markers / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual / Q000502:physiology; D010775:Photic Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D014429:Twins, Dizygotic / Q000502:physiology*; D014430:Twins, Monozygotic / Q000502:physiology*; D014793:Visual Cortex / Q000502:physiology*
D005819:Genetic Markers