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A human parietal face area contains aligned head-centered visual and tactile maps
Martin I Sereno1, Ruey-Song Huang
1Department of Cognitive Science, Institute for Neural Computation, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, USA. sereno@cogsci.ucsd.edu
Nature Neuroscience
|September 26, 2006
Summary
Scientists mapped a human brain area that integrates touch and vision for face protection. This multisensory parietal region uses aligned maps to process stimuli relative to the face, not the eyes.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Sensory processing
- Human brain mapping
Background:
- Visually guided behaviors like eating and avoiding facial threats necessitate integrated spatial visual and somatosensory information.
- The parietal cortex contains multisensory neurons, but a topographic map for face-related stimuli was previously unconfirmed.
Purpose of the Study:
- To map the organization of a multisensory parietal face area in humans.
- To investigate how the brain integrates visual and tactile information for facial protection.
Main Methods:
- Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to study brain activity.
- Stimuli included tactile air puffs and close-up visual stimuli presented at varying polar angles to the face.
Main Results:
- Aligned topographic maps for tactile and near-face visual stimuli were identified in the superior postcentral sulcus.
- This newly mapped area processes visual stimuli based on their location relative to the face.
Conclusions:
- A distinct multisensory parietal face area exists in the human brain.
- This area plays a crucial role in integrating visual and tactile spatial information for facial awareness and protection.
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