Immersive scene representation in human visual cortex with ultra-wide-angle neuroimaging

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Visual Perception
• Brain Imaging

Background:

• Human vision encompasses a wide 220° field, but traditional functional MRI (fMRI) studies are limited to a narrow central 10-15° view.
• This limitation leaves the brain's representation of scenes perceived across the entire visual field largely unexplored.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce a novel ultra-wide angle display method for investigating immersive scene representation in the brain.
• To explore how the brain processes visual information from the far periphery and its integration into scene perception.

Main Methods:

• Developed an ultra-wide angle display system achieving an unobstructed 175° view using angled mirrors and a custom curved screen.
• Created scenes within custom virtual environments to minimize perceptual distortion during wide field-of-view presentation.
• Utilized functional MRI (fMRI) to measure brain activity in response to immersive visual stimuli.

Main Results:

• Immersive scene representation preferentially activates the medial cortex, showing distinct far-peripheral preferences.
• Classic scene-selective brain regions exhibited minimal modulation by the ultra-wide angle stimuli.
• Scene- and face-selective areas retained their content preferences despite extensive far-peripheral stimulation, indicating selective integration of visual information.

Conclusions:

• The medial cortex plays a significant role in processing immersive scenes with a preference for far-peripheral information.
• Visual scene processing regions do not automatically integrate all far-peripheral information, suggesting content-specific processing.
• This research clarifies the interplay between content and peripheral preferences in visual scene representation and opens new research avenues in immersive vision.