title: Lateral occipitotemporal cortex (LOTC) activity is greatest while viewing dance compared to visualization and movement: learning and expertise effects.
abstract: The lateral occipitotemporal cortex (LOTC) is comprised of subregions selectively activated by images of human bodies (extrastriate body area, EBA), objects (lateral occipital complex, LO), and motion (MT+). However, their role in motor imagery and movement processing is unclear, as are the influences of learning and expertise on its recruitment. The purpose of our study was to examine putative changes in LOTC activation during action processing following motor learning of novel choreography in professional ballet dancers. Subjects were scanned with functional magnetic resonance imaging up to four times over 34 weeks and performed four tasks: viewing and visualizing a newly learned ballet dance, visualizing a dance that was not being learned, and movement of the foot. EBA, LO, and MT+ were activated most while viewing dance compared to visualization and movement. Significant increases in activation were observed over time in left LO only during visualization of the unlearned dance, and all subregions were activated bilaterally during the viewing task after 34 weeks of performance, suggesting learning-induced plasticity. Finally, we provide novel evidence for modulation of EBA with dance experience during the motor task, with significant activation elicited in a comparison group of novice dancers only. These results provide a composite of LOTC activation during action processing of newly learned ballet choreography and movement of the foot. The role of these areas is confirmed as primarily subserving observation of complex sequences of whole-body movement, with new evidence for modification by experience and over the course of real world ballet learning.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, York University, Toronto, ON, Canada.|Neuroscience Graduate Diploma Program, York University, Toronto, ON, Canada.|Centre for Vision Research, York University, 4700 Keele Street, Toronto, ON, M3J 1P3, Canada.
authors.forename: Paula M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Di Nota
authors.affiliation: Centre for Vision Research, York University, 4700 Keele Street, Toronto, ON, M3J 1P3, Canada.|Department of Biology, York University, Toronto, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: Gabriella
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Levkov
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Ryerson University, Toronto, ON, Canada.|Canada's National Ballet School, Toronto, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: Rachel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bar
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, York University, Toronto, ON, Canada. desouza@yorku.ca.|Neuroscience Graduate Diploma Program, York University, Toronto, ON, Canada. desouza@yorku.ca.|Centre for Vision Research, York University, 4700 Keele Street, Toronto, ON, M3J 1P3, Canada. desouza@yorku.ca.|Department of Biology, York University, Toronto, ON, Canada. desouza@yorku.ca.|Canadian Action and Perception Network (CAPnet), Toronto, ON, Canada. desouza@yorku.ca.
authors.forename: Joseph F X
authors.initials: JFX
authors.lastname: DeSouza
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001931:Brain Mapping / Q000379:methods*; D003615:Dancing / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007092:Imagination / Q000502:physiology*; D007858:Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology*; D009778:Occipital Lobe / Q000502:physiology*; D013702:Temporal Lobe / Q000502:physiology*; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Action processing; Dance; Expertise; Motor learning; Plasticity