Areas of the human brain activated by ambient visual motion, indicating three kinds of self-movement

Abstract

In a positron emission tomography (PET) study, a very large visual display was used to simulate continuous observer roll, yaw, and linear movement in depth. A global analysis based on all three experiments identified brain areas that responded to the three conditions' shared characteristic of coherent, wide-field motion versus incoherent motion. Several areas were identified, in the posterior-inferior temporal cortex (Brodmann area 37), paralimbic cortex, pulvinar, and midbrain tegmentum. In addition, occipital region KO was sensitive to roll and expansion but not yaw (i.e., coherent displays containing differential flow). Continuous ambient motion did not activate V5/MT selectively. The network of sites responding specifically to coherent motion contrasted with the extensive, contiguous activation that both coherent and incoherent motion elicited in visual areas V1, V2, and V3. The coherent motion mechanisms, furthermore, extended beyond the traditional dorsal pathway proposed to account for visual motion processing, and included subcortical and limbic structures, which are implicated in polysensory processing, posture regulation, and arousal.

Rollvection versus linearvection: Comparison of brain activations in PET

“…The coherent stimulus induced compelling vection. In a subsequent PET study, Beer et al [2002] compared large-field coherent visual motion stimuli, which simulated three different kinds of observer movement (roll, yaw, and linear movement in depth), to three corresponding incoherent visual motion stimuli, which were designed to induce weaker vection in the same planes and directions. Brain areas in the left temporal lobe (BA 37), the pulvinar, amygdala, anterior cingulate gyrus, midbrain tegmentum, and KO were interpreted to respond specifically to the coherence of the stimuli.…”

“…Beer et al [2002] compared visually induced vection in roll, yaw, and linear movement in depth and found responses in a posterior-inferior temporal area, in the paralimbic cortex, pulvinar, midbrain tegmentum, and in the kinetic occipital region (KO), an area located on the occipital pole approximately 20 mm behind MT/V5, which is involved in the processing of kinetic borders [Dupont et al, 1997]. In the study by Beer et al [2002], a region in the right insula appeared to respond specifically to roll motion. Sites apparently selective for linear movement in depth were identified in the right cerebellum and in both temporal lobes.…”

“…Sites apparently selective for linear movement in depth were identified in the right cerebellum and in both temporal lobes. The localization and the extent of activations of cortical areas during apparent roll motion or forward motion vary considerably in brain activation studies [Beer et al, 2002;Brandt et al, 1998;de Jong et al 1994;Kleinschmidt et al, 2002;Previc et al, 2000]. This makes it difficult to determine the critical cortical structures involved in visually induced self-motion.…”

LORETA Neurofeedback for Addiction and the Possible Neurophysiology of Psychological Processes Influenced: A Case Study and Region of Interest Analysis of LORETA Neurofeedback in Right Anterior Cingulate Cortex

“…The regions of interest in this case study are shown to be active in tasks regarding social cognition, interpreting the mental states of others, emotion, memory, learning, decision making, reward, motivation and self reference, encoding, reality monitoring, suicide, empathetic and addictive processes (Abrahams et al, 2003;Adinoff, 2004;Alberto Tassinari et al 2005;Bechara & Damasio, 2002;Beer, Blakemore, Previc, & Liotti, 2002;Berthoz, Armony, Blair, & Dolan, 2002;Buss, Wolf, Witt, & Hellhammer, 2004;Cannon, Lubar, Thornton, Wilson, & Congedo, 2004;Critchley, 2005;du Boisgueheneuc et al, 2006;Fleck, Daselaar, Dobbins, & Cabeza, 2006;Fossati et al, 2003;Goel, Grafman, Sadato, & Hallett, 1995;Goldstein et al, 2007;Grady & Keightley, 2002;Gusnard, 2005;Gusnard, Akbudak, Shulman, & Raichle, 2001;Heiser, Iacoboni, Maeda, Marcus, & Mazziotta, 2003;McNaughton et al, 1996;Stellar & Corbett, 1989;Walton, Croxson, Behrens, Kennerley, & Rushworth, 2007). One important concept regarding alpha activity in limbic regions as estimated by sLORETA and its relationship to SUD may be that these particular frequencies maintain a state of desynchronization within the individual, which in turn affects autonomic functioning, perceptual and cognitive processes, and numerous other personality and psychological factors.…”

Robotic implementation of biological bayesian models towards visuo-inertial image stabilization and gaze control

“…The perceived relative motion is important for posture control [20]. Taking advantage of improved brain imaging techniques, a better understanding of the visual motion and self-movement interactions has been pursued [21], [22]. A Bayesian model of human processing of vestibular information is proposed by [23], obtaining satisfactory responses to complex motion stimuli.…”