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The dynamics of object-selective activation correlate with recognition performance in humans

Nature Neuroscience volume 3, pages 837–843 (2000)Cite this article

Abstract

To investigate the relationship between perceptual awareness and brain activity, we measured both recognition performance and fMRI signal from object-related areas in human cortex while images were presented briefly using a masking protocol. Our results suggest that recognition performance is correlated with selective activation in object areas. Selective activation was correlated to object naming when exposure duration was varied from 20 to 500 milliseconds. Subjects' recognition during identical visual stimulation could be enhanced by training, which also increased the fMRI signal. Overall, the correlation between recognition performance and fMRI signal was highest in occipitotemporal object areas (the lateral occipital complex).

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Figure 1: Masking experiment.
Figure 2: Object-selective regions and visual meridian representations.
Figure 3: Sensitivity of recognition and fMRI activation to object duration.
Figure 4: Training effect: psychophysics.
Figure 5: Training effect: brain activation.
Figure 6: Individual subjects time course data after training (scan 2).
Figure 7: Brain activation versus recognition.

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Acknowledgements

This study was funded by ISF 131/97 and GIF I567 grants. We thank E. Okon and O. Smikt for technical help. We thank M. Harel for assistance with the brain-flattening procedure. We thank G. Avidan-Carmel, U. Zohari and N. Kanwisher for discussions and comments.

Author information

Author notes

  1. Kalanit Grill-Spector

    Present address: Dept. of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02139, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departments of Computer Science and Neurobiology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, 76100, Israel

    Kalanit Grill-Spector

  2. Diagnostic Imaging Department, The Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, 52621, Israel

    Tammar Kushnir

  3. Laboratory for Functional Imaging, Wohl Institute for Advanced Imaging, Tel-Aviv Sourasky Medical Center,, Israel

    Talma Hendler

  4. Department of Neurobiology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, 76100, Israel

    Rafael Malach

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Correspondence to Kalanit Grill-Spector.

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Grill-Spector, K., Kushnir, T., Hendler, T. et al. The dynamics of object-selective activation correlate with recognition performance in humans. Nat Neurosci 3, 837–843 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1038/77754

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