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

• Published in: Cerebral cortex (New York, N.Y. 1991) Vol. 22; no. 2; pp. 337 - 344
• Main Authors: Shimono, Masanori, Mano, Hiroaki, Niki, Kazuhisa
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Oxford University Press 01.02.2012
• 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; diffusion tensor imaging; interhemispheric integration; individual difference; pulvinar; Dynamical Dot Quartet
• ISSN: 1047-3211; 1460-2199; 1460-2199
• DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhr108

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.