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Updated: Nov 9, 2025
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Co-analysis of Brain Structure and Function using fMRI and Diffusion-weighted Imaging
Published on: November 8, 2012
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Differential spatial computations in ventral and lateral face-selective regions are scaffolded by structural
Dawn Finzi1, Jesse Gomez2,3, Marisa Nordt4
1Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA. dfinzi@stanford.edu.
Nature Communications
|April 16, 2021
Summary
Spatial computations for face perception differ between the ventral (foveal) and lateral (peripheral) visual streams. White matter connections from early visual cortex (EVC) scaffold these distinct spatial processing patterns.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Science
- Visual Perception
Background:
- Face processing involves distinct ventral (static) and lateral (dynamic) visual streams.
- The nature of spatial computations within these face-selective streams remains unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the spatial computations of population receptive fields (pRFs) in ventral and lateral face-selective regions.
- To explore the relationship between white matter connectivity and spatial processing differences across visual streams.
Main Methods:
- Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and population receptive field (pRF) mapping were used to measure pRFs in face-selective areas.
- Diffusion MRI was employed to analyze white matter connections between face-selective regions and early visual cortex (EVC).
Main Results:
- Ventral face-selective regions showed pRFs concentrated around the fovea (center of gaze).
- Lateral face-selective regions exhibited pRFs extending to the visual periphery.
- White matter connections from EVC to ventral regions were predominantly foveal, while connections to lateral regions were more uniformly distributed across eccentricities.
Conclusions:
- Spatial computations in face-selective regions vary significantly between the ventral and lateral visual streams.
- The pattern of white matter connections from EVC appears to scaffold these distinct spatial processing strategies in higher-level visual areas.
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