A network linking scene perception and spatial memory systems in posterior cerebral cortex

• Published in: Nature communications Vol. 12; no. 1; pp. 2632 - 13
• Main Authors: Steel, Adam, Billings, Madeleine M., Silson, Edward H., Robertson, Caroline E.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 11.05.2021; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 59/36; 631/378/1595/1554; 631/378/1595/2618; 631/378/2613; Adult; Animal memory; Brain; Brain mapping; Cerebral cortex; Cerebral Cortex - diagnostic imaging; Cerebral Cortex - physiology; Female; Functional magnetic resonance imaging; Humanities and Social Sciences; Humans; Interfaces; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Memory; Memory tasks; Mental Recall - physiology; multidisciplinary; Navigation; Navigation behavior; Nerve Net - diagnostic imaging; Nerve Net - physiology; Perception; Scene analysis; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Spatial analysis; Spatial discrimination; Spatial memory; Spatial Memory - physiology; Spatial Navigation - physiology; Visual Perception - physiology; Young Adult
• ISSN: 2041-1723; 2041-1723
• DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-22848-z

The neural systems supporting scene-perception and spatial-memory systems of the human brain are well-described. But how do these neural systems interact? Here, using fine-grained individual-subject fMRI, we report three cortical areas of the human brain, each lying immediately anterior to a region of the scene perception network in posterior cerebral cortex, that selectively activate when recalling familiar real-world locations. Despite their close proximity to the scene-perception areas, network analyses show that these regions constitute a distinct functional network that interfaces with spatial memory systems during naturalistic scene understanding. These “place-memory areas” offer a new framework for understanding how the brain implements memory-guided visual behaviors, including navigation. Navigation requires integration of visual information with spatial memory representations. Steel et al. describe a new network of brain areas that facilitates the interaction between these perceptual and mnemonic neural systems.