title: Low and high imagers activate networks differentially in mental rotation.
abstract: Whether mental visual images play a functional role in cognition or that propositional knowledge is sufficient for supporting performance in imagery tasks is a long-standing debate. It cannot be resolved using behavioural data alone, nor by brain imaging data alone; for example, across fMRI studies mental rotation has been shown to involve virtually all areas of the brain. Alternatively participants might adopt different cognitive strategies. We report behavioural and fMRI data for mental rotation from individuals reporting vivid or poor mental imagery. Groups differed in errors but not response times, and differed in brain activation patterns, suggesting that the groups performed the same task in different ways.
authors.affiliation: Human Cognitive Neuroscience, Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK. rlogie@staffmail.ed.ac.uk
authors.forename: Robert H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Logie
authors.forename: Cyril R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Pernet
authors.forename: Antimo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Buonocore
authors.forename: Sergio
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Della Sala
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001931:Brain Mapping; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D007092:Imagination / Q000502:physiology*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000502:physiology*; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D012399:Rotation; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult