title: Tactile object categories can be decoded from the parietal and lateral-occipital cortices.
abstract: The visual system classifies objects into categories, and distinct populations of neurons within the temporal lobe respond preferentially to objects of a given perceptual category. We can also classify the objects we recognize with the sense of touch, but less is known about the neuronal correlates underlying this cognitive function. To address this question, we performed a multivariate pattern analysis (MVPA) of functional magnetic resonance imagining (fMRI) activity to identify the cortical areas that can be used to decode the category of objects explored with the hand. We observed that tactile object category can be decoded from the activity patterns of somatosensory and parietal areas. Importantly, we found that categories can also be decoded from the lateral occipital complex (LOC), which is a multimodal region known to be related to the representation of object shape. Furthermore, a hyperalignment analysis showed that activity patterns are similar across subjects. Our results thus indicate that tactile object recognition generates category-specific patterns of activity in a multisensory area known to encode objects, and that these patterns have a similar functional organization across individuals.
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Neurobiología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Querétaro, QRO. 76230, Mexico. Electronic address: raul@lafuentelab.org.
authors.forename: Raúl
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hernández-Pérez
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Neurobiología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Querétaro, QRO. 76230, Mexico.
authors.forename: Laura V
authors.initials: LV
authors.lastname: Cuaya
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Neurobiología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Querétaro, QRO. 76230, Mexico.
authors.forename: Eduardo
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Rojas-Hortelano
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Neurobiología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Querétaro, QRO. 76230, Mexico.
authors.forename: Azalea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Reyes-Aguilar
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Neurobiología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Querétaro, QRO. 76230, Mexico.
authors.forename: Luis
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Concha
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Neurobiología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Querétaro, QRO. 76230, Mexico. Electronic address: lafuente@unam.mx.
authors.forename: Victor
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: de Lafuente
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000344:Afferent Pathways / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality; D006225:Hand / Q000294:innervation; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009778:Occipital Lobe / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000502:physiology*; D010100:Oxygen / Q000097:blood; D010296:Parietal Lobe / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000502:physiology*; D014110:Touch / Q000502:physiology*; D055698:Touch Perception / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D010100:Oxygen
keywords: multivariate pattern analysis; object category; object recognition; perception; somatosensory; tactile