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Object and spatial visual working memory activate separate neural systems in human cortex

S M Courtney1, L G Ungerleider, K Keil

  • 1Laboratory of Psychology and Psychopathology, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, USA.

Cerebral Cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991)
|January 1, 1996
PubMed
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Human brains process visual object and spatial information separately. A PET study revealed distinct brain regions for face versus location working memory, confirming functional segregation in visual processing.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Cognitive Neuroscience
  • Neuroimaging

Background:

  • Human and nonhuman primate visual systems segregate into object and spatial processing pathways.
  • In macaques, distinct frontal lobe areas support object (ventral) and spatial (dorsal) working memory.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate if similar anatomical segregation exists in humans for object and spatial visual working memory.
  • To identify distinct neural substrates for face versus location working memory in the human brain.

Main Methods:

  • Positron emission tomography (PET) study comparing brain activity during face and location working memory tasks.
  • Measurement of regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) as an indicator of neural activity.

Main Results:

Related Experiment Videos

  • Face working memory showed increased rCBF in fusiform, parahippocampal, inferior frontal, and anterior cingulate cortices, right thalamus, and midline cerebellum.
  • Location working memory showed increased rCBF in superior and inferior parietal cortex and superior frontal sulcus.
  • These findings indicate functional segregation in neural systems for face and spatial location working memory.

Conclusions:

  • The human brain exhibits functional segregation for visual working memory, with distinct neural networks supporting object (face) and spatial (location) information processing.
  • Different extrastriate and frontal cortical areas are recruited for processing faces versus spatial locations in working memory.