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Network Interactions Explain Sensitivity to Dynamic Faces in the Superior Temporal Sulcus.

Nicholas Furl¹, Richard N Henson¹, Karl J Friston²

¹MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge CB2 7EF, UK.

Cerebral Cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991)

|April 29, 2014

Summary

The superior temporal sulcus (STS) integrates facial form and motion information. This integration occurs via modulation of motion processing by facial form cues, originating in the occipital and fusiform face areas (OFA/FFA).

Keywords:

biological motion dynamic causal modeling face perception functional magnetic resonance imaging superior temporal sulcus

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Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Cognitive Neuroscience
Perception

Background:

The superior temporal sulcus (STS) is crucial for processing complex visual stimuli, including facial and bodily actions.
Understanding how the brain combines form and motion information in dynamic facial expressions is key to understanding social perception.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate network-level mechanisms for combining facial form and motion information within the human STS.
To explore connectivity models explaining information integration in the STS.

Main Methods:

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was employed to study brain activity.
Localization of face-selective areas (occipital and fusiform face areas - OFA/FFA) and motion-sensitive area V5.
Testing of connectivity models between ventral form and dorsal motion pathways.

Main Results:

Facial form information was found to modulate the transmission of motion information from area V5 to the STS.
This face-selective modulation of motion processing in the STS likely originates in the OFA.
Evidence supports a gain control modulation mechanism for form-motion integration.

Conclusions:

The form-selective motion sensitivity in the STS is explained by modulated information flow within the motion pathway.
Findings provide critical constraints for theories on the perception of faces and biological motion.