Differential neural encoding of sensorimotor and visual body representations

Abstract

Sensorimotor processing specifically impacts mental body representations. In particular, deteriorated somatosensory input (as after complete spinal cord injury) increases the relative weight of visual aspects of body parts’ representations, leading to aberrancies in how images of body parts are mentally manipulated (e.g. mental rotation). This suggests that a sensorimotor or visual reference frame, respectively, can be relatively dominant in local (hands) versus global (full-body) bodily representations. On this basis, we hypothesized that the recruitment of a specific reference frame could be reflected in the activation of sensorimotor versus visual brain networks. To this aim, we directly compared the brain activity associated with mental rotation of hands versus full-bodies. Mental rotation of hands recruited more strongly the supplementary motor area, premotor cortex, and secondary somatosensory cortex. Conversely, mental rotation of full-bodies determined stronger activity in temporo-occipital regions, including the functionally-localized extrastriate body area. These results support that (1) sensorimotor and visual frames of reference are used to represent the body, (2) two distinct brain networks encode local or global bodily representations, and (3) the extrastriate body area is a multimodal region involved in body processing both at the perceptual and representational level.

Action and Non-Action Oriented Body Representations: Insight from Behavioural and Grey Matter Modifications in Individuals with Lower Limb Amputation

“…We have also showed an association between BS and the caudate nucleus, which contributes to implement the correct action schemas and to select appropriate subgoals based on an evaluation of action-outcomes [ 33 ]. This is consistent with fMRI studies on motor imagery [ 34 , 35 ] and underlines the importance of processing motor information to build up BS.…”

Implicit self-other discrimination affects the interplay between multisensory affordances of mental representations of faces

“…Each runs contained 48 images belonging to one identity (self, other). Each image was repeated three times at a given orientation, with the same image never presented twice in sequence [5]. Each trial began with a fixation cross in the centre of the computer screen followed by an image 1000ms later.…”

Visual Neuropsychology in Development: Anatomo-Functional Brain Mechanisms of Action/Perception Binding in Health and Disease

“…The inhibition (Urgesi et al, 2007;Candidi et al, 2008) or lesion (Peelen and Downing, 2007) of EBA support its causal implication in selectively respond to the observation of human bodies. Not only is EBA important for body-related visual processing, but also it is involved in higher-level visual cognition related to the human body, including identity attribution (Myers and Sowden, 2008), emotional resonance (Ionta et al, 2020), and mental imagery (Arzy et al, 2006;Costantini et al, 2011;Perruchoud et al, 2016). Even if the development of EBA in the life span remains largely unexplored, recent evidence suggests that the development of the body-specific responsiveness of EBA can take several years.…”