Challenges to normal neural functioning provide insights into separability of motion processing mechanisms

There is a long history of attempts to disentangle different visual processing mechanisms for physically different motion cues. However, underlying neural correlates and separability of networks are still under debate. We aimed to refine the current understanding by studying differential vulnerabilities when normal neural functioning is challenged. We investigated effects of ageing and extrastriate brain lesions on detection thresholds for motion defined by either luminance- or contrast modulations, known as first- and second-order motion. Both approaches focus on extrastriate processing changes and combine distributed as well as more focal constraints. Our ageing sample comprised 102 subjects covering an age range from 20 to 82 years. Threshold signal-to-noise ratios for detection approximately doubled across the age range for both motion types. Results suggest that ageing affects perception of both motion types to an equivalent degree and thus support overlapping processing resources. Underlying neural substrates were further qualified by testing perceptual performance of 18 patients with focal cortical brain lesions. We determined selective first-order motion deficits in three patients, selective second-order motion deficits in only one patient, and deficits for both motion types in three patients. Lesion analysis yielded support for common functional substrates in higher cortical regions. Functionally specific substrates remained ambiguous, but tended to cover earlier visual areas. We conclude that observed vulnerabilities of first- and second-order motion perception provide limited evidence for functional specialization at early extrastriate stages, but emphasize shared processing pathways at higher cortical levels.