Objects and their icons in the brain: the neural correlates of visual concept formation.

We are constantly exposed to symbols such as traffic signs, emoticons in internet communication, or other abstract representations of objects as well as, of course, the written words. However, aside from the word reading, little is known about the way our brain responds when we read non-lexical iconic symbols. By using functional MRI, we found that the watching of icons recruited manifold brain areas including frontal and parietal cortices in addition to the temporo-occipital junction in the ventral pathway. Remarkably, the brain response for icons was contrasted with the response for corresponding concrete objects with the pattern of 'hyper-cortical and hypo-subcortical' brain activation. This neural underpinning might be called the neural correlates for visual concept formation.