How the brain represents mass

Fairchild, Grant; Snow, Jacqueline C.

doi:10.7554/elife.54373

Cited by 3 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…Object mass seems to be represented alongside other physical variables in the frontoparietal cortex, which anticipates the dynamics of objects, automatically and independently from the ventral cortex (Schwettmann, Tenenbaum, & Kanwisher, 2019). The extent to which such representations remain invariant or are malleable across changes in stimulus format remains an important question for future research (Fairchild & Snow, 2020).…”

Section: Why Does a Transparent Barrier Modulate Earlymentioning

confidence: 99%

Graspability Modulates the Stronger Neural Signature of Motor Preparation for Real Objects vs. Pictures

Fairchild

Marini

Snow

2021

Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience

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The cognitive and neural bases of visual perception are typically studied using pictures rather than real-world stimuli. Unlike pictures, real objects are actionable solids that can be manipulated with the hands. Recent evidence from human brain imaging suggests that neural responses to real objects differ from responses to pictures; however, little is known about the neural mechanisms that drive these differences. Here, we tested whether brain responses to real objects versus pictures are differentially modulated by the “in-the-moment” graspability of the stimulus. In human dorsal cortex, electroencephalography responses show a “real object advantage” in the strength and duration of mu (μ) and low beta (β) rhythm desynchronization—well-known neural signatures of visuomotor action planning. We compared desynchronization for real tools versus closely matched pictures of the same objects, when the stimuli were positioned unoccluded versus behind a large transparent barrier that prevented immediate access to the stimuli. We found that, without the barrier in place, real objects elicited stronger μ and β desynchronization compared to pictures, both during stimulus presentation and after stimulus offset, replicating previous findings. Critically, however, with the barrier in place, this real object advantage was attenuated during the period of stimulus presentation, whereas the amplification in later periods remained. These results suggest that the “real object advantage” is driven initially by immediate actionability, whereas later differences perhaps reflect other, more inherent properties of real objects. The findings showcase how the use of richer multidimensional stimuli can provide a more complete and ecologically valid understanding of object vision.

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Section: Why Does a Transparent Barrier Modulate Earlymentioning

confidence: 99%

Graspability Modulates the Stronger Neural Signature of Motor Preparation for Real Objects vs. Pictures

Fairchild

Marini

Snow

2021

Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience

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“…Because size, weight, and elongation are typically correlated, the “size” representations we observed could reflect any of these characteristics; future studies could tease apart these alternatives by using larger stimulus sets that allow different physical features to be decorrelated. Furthermore, given that real objects (but not pictures) are processed according to their weight (Holler et al, 2020), future studies could examine whether, and where, weight emerges in the associated neural representations (Chouinard et al, 2009; Fairchild & Snow, 2020).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Naturalistic Object Representations Depend on Distance and Size Cues

Fairchild,

Holler,

Fabbri

et al. 2024

Preprint

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Egocentric distance and real-world size are important cues for object perception and action. Nevertheless, most studies of human vision rely on two-dimensional pictorial stimuli that convey ambiguous distance and size information. Here, we use fMRI to test whether pictures are represented differently in the human brain from real, tangible objects that convey unambiguous distance and size cues. Participants directly viewed stimuli in two display formats (real objects and matched printed pictures of those objects) presented at different egocentric distances (near and far). We measured the effects of format and distance on fMRI response amplitudes and response patterns. We found that fMRI response amplitudes in the lateral occipital and posterior parietal cortices were stronger overall for real objects than for pictures. In these areas and many others, including regions involved in action guidance, responses to real objects were stronger for near vs. far stimuli, whereas distance had little effect on responses to pictures--suggesting that distance determines relevance to action for real objects, but not for pictures. Although stimulus distance especially influenced response patterns in dorsal areas that operate in the service of visually guided action, distance also modulated representations in ventral cortex, where object responses are thought to remain invariant across contextual changes. We observed object size representations for both stimulus formats in ventral cortex but predominantly only for real objects in dorsal cortex. Together, these results demonstrate that whether brain responses reflect physical object characteristics depends on whether the experimental stimuli convey unambiguous information about those characteristics.

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“…Although numerous studies have reported on the brain regions activated due to object weight, it is difficult to obtain clear results. Despite inconsistent results, the regions associated with object weight are the dorsal stream, [ 5 ] ventral stream, [ 6 , 7 ] frontoparietal regions, [ 8 , 9 ] primary motor cortex, [ 5 ] and sensorimotor memory area. [ 10 ] In addition, the pathway responsible for perceiving object characteristics such as shape and size is known as the ventral area; however, whether the pathway is also engaged in perceiving object weight has not been determined.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A study on brain neuronal activation based on the load in upper limb exercise (STROBE)

Choi

2022

Medicine

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This study aimed to determine the level of brain activation in separate regions, including the lobes, cerebellum, and limbic system, depending on the weight of an object during elbow flexion and extension exercise using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The study was conducted on ten male undergraduates (22.4 ± 1.2 years). The functional images of the brain were obtained using the 3T MRI. The participants performed upper limb flexion and extension exercise at a constant speed and as the weight of the object for lifting was varied (0 g and 1000 g). The experiment consisted of four blocks that constituted 8 minutes. Each block was designed to comprise a rest phase (1 minute) and a lifting phase (1 minute). The results showed that, in the parietal lobe, the activation was higher for the 0 g-motion condition than for the 1000 g-motion condition; however, in the occipital lobe, cerebellum, sub-lobar, and limbic system, the activation was higher for the 1000 g-motion condition than for the 0 g-motion condition. The brain region for the perception of object weight was identified as the ventral area (occipital, temporal, and frontal lobe), and the activation of the ventral pathway is suggested to have increased as the object came into vision and as its shape, size, and weight were perceived. For holding an object in hand, compared to not holding it, the exercise load was greater for controlling the motion to maintain the posture (arm angle at 90°), controlling the speed to repeat the motion at a constant speed, and producing an accurate posing. Therefore, to maintain such varied conditions, the activation level increased in the regions associated with control and regulation through the motion coordination from vision to arm movements (control of muscles). A characteristic reduced activation was observed in the regions associated with visuo-vestibular interaction and voluntary movement when the exercise involved lifting a 1000-g object compared to the exercise without object lifting.

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How the brain represents mass

Abstract: New fMRI experiments and machine learning are helping to identify how the mass of objects is processed in the brain.

Cited by 3 publications

References 6 publications

Graspability Modulates the Stronger Neural Signature of Motor Preparation for Real Objects vs. Pictures

Graspability Modulates the Stronger Neural Signature of Motor Preparation for Real Objects vs. Pictures

Naturalistic Object Representations Depend on Distance and Size Cues

A study on brain neuronal activation based on the load in upper limb exercise (STROBE)

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