Abstract
Optic flow is one of the most important visual cues to the estimation of self-motion. It has repeatedly been demonstrated that a cortical network including visual, multisensory, and vestibular areas is implicated in processing optic flow; namely, visual areas middle temporal cortex (MT+), V6; multisensory areas ventral intra-parietal area (VIP), cingulate sulcus visual area, precuneus motion area (PcM); and vestibular areas parieto-insular vestibular cortex (PIVC) and putative area 2v (p2v). However, few studies have investigated the roles of and interaction between the optic-flow selective sensory areas within the context of self-motion perception. When visual information (i.e., optic flow) is the sole cue to computing self-motion parameters, the discrepancy amongst the sensory signals may induce an illusion of self-motion referred to as ‘vection.’ This study aimed to identify optic-flow selective sensory areas that are involved in the processing of visual cues to self-motion, by introducing vection as an index and assessing activation in which of those areas reflect vection, using functional magnetic resonance imaging. The results showed that activity in visual areas MT+ and V6, multisensory area VIP and vestibular area PIVC was significantly greater while participants were experiencing vection, as compared to when they were experiencing no vection, which may indicate that activation in MT+, V6, VIP, and PIVC reflects vection. The results also place VIP in a good position to integrate visual cues related to self-motion and vestibular information.
Highlights
When moving through any given environment, being able to accurately estimate one’s position, orientation, and displacement is crucial to successful navigation as well as safety
This study aimed to determine which of the optic-flow selective sensory areas are involved in the processing of visual cues to self-motion, by assessing whether optic flow is encoded differently according to the presence or absence of vection, and if so, activation in which of those areas reflect vection, using functional magnetic resonance imaging
Functional Localization To localize regions of interest (ROI), BOLD responses to the coherent optic-flow and the random-motion stimuli were contrasted, which allowed for isolation of cortical sensory regions that are significantly more sensitive to coherent optic flow at p-value of less than 0.005
Summary
When moving through any given environment, being able to accurately estimate one’s position, orientation, and displacement is crucial to successful navigation as well as safety. It has been shown that there is a network of cortical sensory regions that respond selectively to optic flow (Duffy and Wurtz, 1991a,b, 1995; Cardin and Smith, 2010, 2011). Those regions are; visual areas middle temporal cortex (MT+), V6; multisensory areas ventral intra-parietal area (VIP), cingulate sulcus visual area (CSv), precuneus motion area (PcM); and vestibular areas putative area 2v (p2v) and parieto-insular vestibular cortex (PIVC).
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
