A similarity-based approach for decoding the human object recognition pathway

描述（由申请人提供）：该应用程序的总体目标是双重的：（1）调查人类物体识别途径中的生命性的表示，以及（2）开发使用认知状态之间的相似性的多变量测量来分析功能性大脑图像的改进方法。以下假设将被测试：基于模式的测量与观看动画对象的认知状态之间的神经相似性将揭示在大脑的不同部位的代表性结构相对于各种类型的信息。具体目标1：为了确定潜在的维度，形成的神经相似性结构的基础上，对各种各样的动画刺激的反应模式集中在三个代表域：视觉形式（包括物种内和物种间），生物运动，和威胁。具体目标2：测试有生命实体的神经表征的相似性结构是否在大脑区域之间存在差异。具体而言，评估解剖学上不同的区域的相对贡献，假设代表三种类型的信息：枕叶和腹侧颞叶皮层（视觉形式），上级颞沟（生物运动），杏仁核和腹内侧前额叶皮层（威胁）。具体目标3：将神经相似性--从不同的大脑区域计算--与参与者沿着沿着不同的维度判断的行为相似性相关联。建立神经表征和心理直觉之间的直接联系，关于三个表征领域：视觉形式，生物运动和威胁的相似性结构。具体目标4：开发一种利用体素之间的空间信息计算神经相似性的方法。FMR 1和行为数据将在为满足这些特定目标而定制的三个实验中收集。数据分析涉及图像预处理、模式分类、基于信息的大脑映射、神经相似性的多变量测量、聚类分析和多维缩放的最新技术的组合。与公共卫生的相关性：这项研究将揭示大脑中支持动物性表征的主要途径，这是社会性大脑的核心组成部分。了解这一系统将提供一个基石，在社会神经科学的研究和相关的广泛的障碍，其中受损的社会认知是一个主要特征的转化研究。多变量技术在人脑成像中的发展大大提高了脑成像揭示神经表征结构的能力;特别是，基于相似性的方法的发展有望为我们提供一个强大的工具，将神经表征结构与认知表征模型联系起来。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The application's overall goal is twofold: (1) to investigate the representation of animacy in the human object recognition pathway, and (2) to develop improved methods for analyzing functional brain images using multivariate measures of similarity among cognitive states. The following hypothesis will be tested: Pattern-based measurements of neural similarity among cognitive states associated with viewing animate objects will reveal the structure of representation in different parts of the brain with respect to various types of information. Specific Aim 1: To identify the underlying dimensions that form the basis of neural similarity structure for patterns of response to a wide variety of animate stimuli focusing on three representational domains: visual form (both within-species and between-species), biological motion, and threat. Specific Aim 2: To test whether the similarity structure of the neural representations of animate entities varies across brain areas. Specifically, to evaluate the relative contributions of anatomically distinct regions hypothesized to represent three types of information: inferior-occipital and ventral temporal cortex (visual form), superior temporal sulcus (biological motion), and the amygdala and ventromedial prefrontal cortex (threat). Specific Aim 3: To correlate neural similarity-calculated from various brain regions-with behavioral similarity judged by participants along various dimensions. To establish direct links between neural representation and psychological intuitions about similarity structure with respect to the three representational domains: visual form, biological motion, and threat. Specific aim 4: To develop a method for calculating neural similarity that exploits the spatial information among voxels. FMRl and behavioral data will be collected in three experiments tailored to meet these specific aims. Data analysis involves a combination of state-of-the-art techniques for image preprocessing, pattern-classification, information-based brain mapping, multivariate measures of neural similarity, cluster analyses, and multidimensional scaling. Relevance to public health: This research will shed light on a major pathway in the brain that supports the representation of animacy-a core component of the social brain. Understanding of this system will provide a cornerstone for research in social neuroscience and translational research relevant to a broad range of disorders in which impaired social cognition is a major feature. The growth of multivariate techniques in human brain imaging has greatly increased the power of brain imaging to reveal the structure of neural representation; in particular, the development of similarity-based approaches promises to provide us with a powerful tool for linking the structure of neural representation with models of cognitive representation.