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Representation of head-centric flow in the human motion complex
Jeroen Goossens1, Sean P Dukelow, Ravi S Menon
1Department of Biophysics, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands. j.goossens@science.ru.nl
Summary
Human brain areas MT and MST integrate eye movements with visual flow. MST, but not MT, shows enhanced responses during pursuit, suggesting its role in creating head-centric visual flow representations.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Visual Perception
- Human Brain Imaging
Background:
- Human homologs of macaque motion areas MT and MST are identified.
- Integration of visual and non-visual signals in human motion areas is poorly understood.
- Extra-retinal signals aid in creating head- or body-centric flow representations.
Purpose of the Study:
- Investigate if extra-retinal eye-movement signals modulate visual flow responses in the human MT+ complex.
- Differentiate responses between human MT and MST.
- Determine if subdivisions within MT/MST transform retinal flow into head-centric flow.
Main Methods:
- Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used.
- Responses to visual flow during eye pursuit versus fixation were compared.
- fMRI signals were analyzed for interactions between eye-movement and visual flow stimuli.
Main Results:
- Interactions between eye-movement signals and visual flow varied across the MT+ complex.
- MST responses to visual flow were stronger during pursuit than fixation, unlike MT.
- Two subregions, including part of MST, showed significantly boosted flow responses during pursuit.
- Evidence for a metric relationship between head-relative rotational flow and fMRI signals in an MST subregion was found.
Conclusions:
- Human MST, unlike MT, integrates eye-movement signals with visual flow, suggesting a role in head-centric flow representation.
- Findings advance understanding beyond monkey single-cell recordings.
- Head-centric flow may supplement vestibular signals for cross-calibrating sensory information.