title: Functional connections between optic flow areas and navigationally responsive brain regions during goal-directed navigation.
abstract: Recent computational models suggest that visual input from optic flow provides information about egocentric (navigator-centered) motion and influences firing patterns in spatially tuned cells during navigation. Computationally, self-motion cues can be extracted from optic flow during navigation. Despite the importance of optic flow to navigation, a functional link between brain regions sensitive to optic flow and brain regions important for navigation has not been established in either humans or animals. Here, we used a beta-series correlation methodology coupled with two fMRI tasks to establish this functional link during goal-directed navigation in humans. Functionally defined optic flow sensitive cortical areas V3A, V6, and hMT+ were used as seed regions. fMRI data was collected during a navigation task in which participants updated position and orientation based on self-motion cues to successfully navigate to an encoded goal location. The results demonstrate that goal-directed navigation requiring updating of position and orientation in the first person perspective involves a cooperative interaction between optic flow sensitive regions V3A, V6, and hMT+ and the hippocampus, retrosplenial cortex, posterior parietal cortex, and medial prefrontal cortex. These functional connections suggest a dynamic interaction between these systems to support goal-directed navigation.
authors.affiliation: Center for Memory and Brain, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA; Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA.
authors.forename: Katherine R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Sherrill
authors.affiliation: Center for Memory and Brain, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA; Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA.
authors.forename: Elizabeth R
authors.initials: ER
authors.lastname: Chrastil
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH 03824, USA.
authors.forename: Robert S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Ross
authors.affiliation: Center for Memory and Brain, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA.
authors.forename: Uğur M
authors.initials: UM
authors.lastname: Erdem
authors.affiliation: Center for Memory and Brain, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA.
authors.forename: Michael E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Hasselmo
authors.affiliation: Center for Memory and Brain, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA; Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA. Electronic address: Chantal@bu.edu.
authors.forename: Chantal E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Stern
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006040:Goals; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009039:Motion Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D057849:Optic Flow / Q000502:physiology*; D065854:Spatial Navigation / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Hippocampus; MT; Retrosplenial cortex; V3A; V6; fMRI