Processing of visual and non-visual naturalistic spatial information in the "parahippocampal place area"

Abstract

The “parahippocampal place area” (PPA) in the human ventral visual stream exhibits increased hemodynamic activity correlated with the perception of landscape photos compared to faces or objects. Here, we investigate the perception of scene-related, spatial information embedded in two naturalistic stimuli. The same 14 participants were watching a Hollywood movie and listening to its audio-description as part of the open-data resource studyforrest.org. We model hemodynamic activity based on annotations of selected stimulus features, and compare results to a block-design visual localizer. On a group level, increased activation correlating with visual spatial information occurring in the movie is overlapping with a traditionally localized PPA. Activation correlating with semantic spatial information occurring in the audio-description is more restricted to the anterior PPA. On an individual level, we find significant bilateral activity in the PPA of nine individuals and unilateral activity in one individual. Results suggest that activation in the PPA generalizes to spatial information embedded in a movie and an auditory narrative, and may call for considering a functional subdivision of the PPA.

Neural specialization for ‘visual’ concepts emerges in the absence of vision

“…In the sighted group, the responses we observed to place words were anterior to but overlapping with the ‘perceptual’ PPA responses typically found for images of places (Epstein & Kanwisher, 1998; Weiner et al, 2017). These place responses are more consistent with anterior memory-related and word-related responses observed in previous studies (Fairhall et al, 2014; Häusler et al, 2022; see also Baldassano et al, 2013; Silson et al, 2016). In the blind group, the medial VOTC place response was more spatially distributed and variable across participants, extending into posterior occipital cortex.…”

“…These place responses are more consistent with anterior memory-related and word-related responses observed in previous studies (Fairhall et al, 2014;Häusler et al, 2022; see also Baldassano et al, 2013;Silson et al, 2016). In the blind group, the medial VOTC place response was more spatially distributed and variable across participants, extending into posterior occipital cortex.…”

“…This finding corroborates past work with blind individuals, suggesting that specialized responses to places in the VOTC emerge independent of vision. In the sighted group, this PPA-like response was located anterior to the 'perceptual' PPA response typically found for images of places and was therefore consistent with anterior conceptual/memory-related responses observed for place words in previous studies (Fairhall et al, 2014;Häusler et al, 2022; see also Baldassano et al, 2013;Silson et al, 2016). In the blind group, the medial VOTC place response was more spatially distributed and variable across participants, extending into posterior occipital cortex.…”

Neuroscout, a unified platform for generalizable and reproducible fMRI research

“…Even using a simple one-predictor approach, we observed robust meta-analytic activation patterns largely consistent with expectations from the existing literature (Figure 3), a strong sign of the reliability of automatically extracted predictors. We observed activation in the primary visual cortex for brightness (Peters, Jans, van de Ven, De Weerd, & Goebel, 2010), parahippocampal place area (PPA) activation in response to buildings and landscapes (Häusler, Eickhoff, & Hanke, 2022; Park & Chun, 2009), visual word form area (VWFA) activation in response to text (L. Chen et al, 2019), and lateral occipito-temporal cortex (LOTC) and parietal activation in regions associated with action perception and action knowledge (Schone, Maimon-Mor, Baker, & Makin, 2021; Valyear, Cavina-Pratesi, Stiglick, & Culham, 2007) in response to the presence of tools on screen.…”

Neuroscout, a unified platform for generalizable and reproducible fMRI research

“…Even using a simple one-predictor approach, we observed robust meta-analytic activation patterns largely consistent with expectations from the existing literature ( Figure 3 ), a strong sign of the reliability of automatically extracted predictors. We observed activation in the primary visual cortex for brightness ( Peters et al, 2010 ), parahippocampal place area (PPA) activation in response to buildings and landscapes ( Park and Chun, 2009 ; Häusler et al, 2022 ), visual word form area (VWFA) activation in response to text ( Chen et al, 2019 ), and lateral occipito-temporal cortex (LOTC) and parietal activation in regions associated with action perception and action knowledge ( Schone et al, 2021 ; Valyear et al, 2007 ) in response to the presence of tools on screen. For auditory features, we observed primary auditory cortex activation in response to loudness ( Langers et al, 2007 ), and superior temporal sulcus and gyrus activity in response to speech ( Sekiyama et al, 2003 ).…”