The Brain Structural Hub of Interhemispheric Information Integration for Visual Motion Perception

We investigated the key anatomical structures mediating interhemispheric integration during the perception of apparent motion across the retinal midline. Previous studies of commissurotomized patients suggest that subcortical structures mediate interhemispheric transmission but the specific regions...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Cerebral cortex (New York, N.Y. 1991) N.Y. 1991), 2012-02, Vol.22 (2), p.337-344
Main Authors: Shimono, Masanori, Mano, Hiroaki, Niki, Kazuhisa
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Brain Mapping
Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Female
Functional Laterality - physiology
Humans
Image Processing, Computer-Assisted
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Male
Motion Perception - physiology
Oxygen - blood
Photic Stimulation - methods
Psychophysics
Reaction Time
Statistics as Topic
Time Factors
Visual Cortex - blood supply
Visual Cortex - physiology
Young Adult
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Summary:We investigated the key anatomical structures mediating interhemispheric integration during the perception of apparent motion across the retinal midline. Previous studies of commissurotomized patients suggest that subcortical structures mediate interhemispheric transmission but the specific regions involved remain unclear. Here, we exploit interindividual variations in the propensity of normal subjects to perceive horizontal motion, in relation to vertical motion. We characterize these differences psychophysically using a Dynamic Dot Quartet (an ambiguous stimulus that induces illusory motion). We then tested for correlations between a tendency to perceive horizontal motion and fractional anisotropy (FA) (from structural diffusion tensor imaging), over subjects. FA is an indirect measure of the orientation and integrity of white matter tracts. Subjects who found it easy to perceive horizontal motion showed significantly higher FA values in the pulvinar. Furthermore, fiber tracking from an independently identified (subject-specific) visual motion area converged on the pulvinar nucleus. These results suggest that the pulvinar is an anatomical hub and may play a central role in interhemispheric integration.
ISSN:1047-3211
1460-2199
DOI:10.1093/cercor/bhr108