Geometry Three Ways: An fMRI Investigation of Geometric Information Processing during Reorientation

• Published in: Journal of experimental psychology. Learning, memory, and cognition memory, and cognition, 2012-11, Vol.38 (6), p.1530-1541
• Main Authors: Sutton, Jennifer E, Twyman, Alexandra D, Joanisse, Marc F, Newcombe, Nora S
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Anatomical correlates of behavior; Auditory Cortex - physiology; Behavioral psychophysiology; Biological and medical sciences; Brain; Brain - physiology; Brain Hemisphere Functions; Cognition; Cognitive Processes; Control Groups; Diagnostic Tests; Environment; Evidence; Female; Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Geometric Concepts; Geometry; Hippocampus - physiology; Human; Humans; Information processing; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Neurology; Neuropsychology; NMR; Nuclear magnetic resonance; Orientation - physiology; Pattern Recognition, Visual - physiology; Photic Stimulation; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Responses; Space Perception - physiology; Spatial Orientation (Perception); Structural Elements (Construction); Task Analysis; Temporal Lobe - physiology; Verbal Communication; Young Adult; Young Children
• ISSN: 0278-7393; 1939-1285
• DOI: 10.1037/a0028456

The geometry formed by the walls of a room is known to be a potent cue in reorientation, yet little is known about the use of geometric information gleaned from other contexts. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to examine neural activity in adults while reorienting in 3 different environments: the typical rectangular walled room, a rectangular configuration of pillars in an open field, and a rectangular floor in an open field. Behavioral response patterns for the 3 environments were similar, but pairwise contrasts of brain activation revealed differences at the neural level. We observed greater medial temporal lobe (MTL) involvement when reorienting with the pillars versus the walls and floor. In addition, the walled room selectively engaged areas of posterior parahippocampal cortex corresponding to the parahippocampal place area, when compared with the floor. Finally, a conjunction analysis of the 3 geometry conditions, compared with a control task, revealed activation in the primary auditory cortex that was common to all geometry conditions. These findings add to growing evidence that adults use verbal processes to encode environment geometry and that the reorientation tasks that young children find difficult are particularly hippocampus-dependent. (Contains 3 tables and 5 figures.)