University of Nevada.
J Cogn Neurosci. 2014 May;26(5):1154-67. doi: 10.1162/jocn_a_00548. Epub 2013 Dec 17.
Humans typically rely upon vision to identify object shape, but we can also recognize shape via touch (haptics). Our haptic shape recognition ability raises an intriguing question: To what extent do visual cortical shape recognition mechanisms support haptic object recognition? We addressed this question using a haptic fMRI repetition design, which allowed us to identify neuronal populations sensitive to the shape of objects that were touched but not seen. In addition to the expected shape-selective fMRI responses in dorsal frontoparietal areas, we observed widespread shape-selective responses in the ventral visual cortical pathway, including primary visual cortex. Our results indicate that shape processing via touch engages many of the same neural mechanisms as visual object recognition. The shape-specific repetition effects we observed in primary visual cortex show that visual sensory areas are engaged during the haptic exploration of object shape, even in the absence of concurrent shape-related visual input. Our results complement related findings in visually deprived individuals and highlight the fundamental role of the visual system in the processing of object shape.
人类通常依赖视觉来识别物体的形状，但我们也可以通过触觉（触觉）来识别形状。我们的触觉形状识别能力提出了一个有趣的问题：视觉皮层形状识别机制在多大程度上支持触觉物体识别？我们使用触觉 fMRI 重复设计来解决这个问题，该设计允许我们识别对触摸但未看到的物体形状敏感的神经元群体。除了在背侧额顶区域预期的形状选择性 fMRI 反应外，我们还观察到在包括初级视觉皮层在内的腹侧视觉皮层通路中广泛存在的形状选择性反应。我们的结果表明，通过触摸进行的形状处理涉及许多与视觉物体识别相同的神经机制。我们在初级视觉皮层中观察到的形状特异性重复效应表明，即使在没有同时的形状相关视觉输入的情况下，视觉感觉区域也会参与到物体形状的触觉探索中。我们的结果补充了在视觉剥夺个体中发现的相关结果，并强调了视觉系统在处理物体形状中的基本作用。
