Localization of Function in the Brain

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DESCRIPTION:(provided by applicant) In this competing renewal, we propose to continue two research themes concerned with the study of the visual processing of complex forms that were established during the current period of funding. The first concerns visual processing within the ventral occipitotemporal region of the human brain. We propose a series of experiments to investigate the degree to which processing in this region is category specific, and the degree to which processing is influenced by expertise. These studies will further attempt to determine whether processing within putative category specific regions are influenced by cognitive and attentional factors and, if so, when in time these factors influence processing. These latter studies will help determine the validity of our assertion that strong modularity may be temporally limited. The second line of inquiry concerns processing along the lateral temporal-parietal region - particularly within and near the superior temporal sulcus (STS). Our prior studies and those of other groups have indicated that this region is sensitive to the perception of biological motion such as shifts in eye gaze and mouth movements. We propose to systematically map this region to determine if indeed it is selectively influenced by biological as compared to complex non-biological motion and, if so, whether there is an organizational principle along the STS for the type of motion perceived, such as a somatotopic organization. Finally we will investigate whether activity in this region is sensitive to the social relevance of the perceived motion - whether the action is intentional, and whether the action is goal directed within the established context. As in our prior period of funding, we will conduct parallel studies using functional magnetic resonance imaging (functional MRI, or fMRI) and intracranial event-related potential (ERP) recording. This proposal will benefit from technological developments in high-field (4 Tesla or 4 T) neuroimaging that improve functional resolution, and from recent developments in pulse-sequence design that recover susceptibility-related signal loss in ventral temporal regions.