Category-specific organization in the human brain does not require visual experience.
Distinct regions within the ventral visual pathway show neural specialization for nonliving and living stimuli (e.g., tools, houses versus animals, faces). The causes of these category preferences are widely debated. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we find that the same regions of the ventral stream that show category preferences for nonliving stimuli and animals in sighted adults show the same category preferences in adults who are blind since birth. Both blind and sighted participants had larger blood oxygen-level dependent (BOLD) responses in the medial fusiform gyrus for nonliving stimuli compared to animal stimuli and differential BOLD responses in lateral occipital cortex for animal stimuli compared to nonliving stimuli. These findings demonstrate that the medial-to-lateral bias by conceptual domain in the ventral visual pathway does not require visual experience in order to develop and suggest the operation of innately determined domain-specific constraints on the organization of object knowledge.
Mahon
Bradford Z
BZ
Center for Mind/Brain Sciences (CIMeC), University of Trento, Rovereto, TN 38068, Italy. mahon@rcbi.rochester.edu
Anzellotti
Stefano
S
Schwarzbach
Jens
J
Zampini
Massimiliano
M
Caramazza
Alfonso
A
D000161:Acoustic Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001766:Blindness / Q000473:pathology; D001931:Brain Mapping; D003210:Concept Formation / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods; D007600:Judgment / Q000502:physiology; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010100:Oxygen / Q000097:blood; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual / Q000502:physiology*; D010775:Photic Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D014793:Visual Cortex / Q000098:blood supply / Q000502:physiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D014795:Visual Pathways / Q000502:physiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D055815:Young Adult
D010100:Oxygen
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