Identifying objects seen from different viewpoints. A PET investigation

• Published in: Brain (London, England : 1878) Vol. 117 ( Pt 5); p. 1055
• Main Authors: Kosslyn, S M, Alpert, N M, Thompson, W L, Chabris, C F, Rauch, S L, Anderson, A K
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England 01.10.1994
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Brain - diagnostic imaging; Brain - physiopathology; Humans; Male; Memory; Mental Processes; Tomography, Emission-Computed; Visual Perception - physiology
• ISSN: 0006-8950
• DOI: 10.1093/brain/117.5.1055

Positron emission tomography scans were acquired when subjects performed three tasks, each in a separate block of trials. They decided whether words named pictures of objects viewed from a canonical perspective, decided whether words named pictures of objects viewed from a non-canonical (unusual) perspective or saw random patterns of lines and pressed a pedal when they heard the word (this was a baseline condition). The dorsolateral prefrontal region was activated when subjects identified objects seen from non-canonical perspectives, as expected if the frontal lobes are involved in top-down perceptual processing. In addition, several areas in the occipital, temporal and parietal lobes were selectively activated when subjects identified objects seen from non-canonical perspectives, as specifically predicted by a recent theory. Overall, the pattern of results supported the view that the human brain identifies objects by using a system of areas similar to that suggested by studies of other primates.