Skip to main content
bioRxiv
  • Home
  • About
  • Submit
  • ALERTS / RSS
Advanced Search
New Results

Dynamic dot displays reveal material motion network in the human brain

Alexandra C. Schmid, View ORCID ProfileHuseyin Boyaci, View ORCID ProfileKatja Doerschner
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.03.09.983593
Alexandra C. Schmid
1Justus Liebig University Giessen, Germany
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Huseyin Boyaci
1Justus Liebig University Giessen, Germany
2Bilkent University, Turkey
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • ORCID record for Huseyin Boyaci
Katja Doerschner
1Justus Liebig University Giessen, Germany
2Bilkent University, Turkey
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • ORCID record for Katja Doerschner
  • Abstract
  • Full Text
  • Info/History
  • Metrics
  • Preview PDF
Loading

ABSTRACT

There is growing research interest in the neural mechanisms underlying the recognition of material categories and properties. This research field, however, is relatively recent and limited compared to investigations of the neural mechanisms underlying object and scene category recognition. Motion is particularly important for the perception of non-rigid materials, but the neural basis of non-rigid material motion remains unexplored. Using fMRI we investigated whether brain regions respond differentially to material motion versus other motions. Stimuli were dynamic dot animations that induce vivid percepts of various materials in motion, e.g. flapping cloth, liquid waves, wobbling jelly. Control stimuli were scrambled motion and rigid three-dimensional rotating dots. We used a block design and the general linear model to contrast conditions (whole brain analyses). Results showed that isolating material motion properties with dynamic dots (in contrast with other kinds of motion) activates a network of activity in both ventral and dorsal visual pathways, including areas normally associated with the processing of surface properties and shape, and extending to somatosensory and premotor cortices. We suggest that such a widespread preference for material motion is due to strong associations between stimulus properties: when you see the dots move in a specific pattern not only do you see material motion – you see a flexible, non-rigid shape, identify the object as a cloth flapping in the wind, get a clear sense of its weight under gravity, and feel as though you could reach out and touch it. These results are a first important step in mapping out the cortical architecture and dynamics in material related motion processing.

Copyright 
The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under a CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license.
Back to top
PreviousNext
Posted March 09, 2020.
Download PDF
Email

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word about bioRxiv.

NOTE: Your email address is requested solely to identify you as the sender of this article.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
Dynamic dot displays reveal material motion network in the human brain
(Your Name) has forwarded a page to you from bioRxiv
(Your Name) thought you would like to see this page from the bioRxiv website.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Share
Dynamic dot displays reveal material motion network in the human brain
Alexandra C. Schmid, Huseyin Boyaci, Katja Doerschner
bioRxiv 2020.03.09.983593; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.03.09.983593
Reddit logo Twitter logo Facebook logo LinkedIn logo Mendeley logo
Citation Tools
Dynamic dot displays reveal material motion network in the human brain
Alexandra C. Schmid, Huseyin Boyaci, Katja Doerschner
bioRxiv 2020.03.09.983593; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.03.09.983593

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Google Plus One

Subject Area

  • Neuroscience
Subject Areas
All Articles
  • Animal Behavior and Cognition (4369)
  • Biochemistry (9546)
  • Bioengineering (7068)
  • Bioinformatics (24768)
  • Biophysics (12560)
  • Cancer Biology (9924)
  • Cell Biology (14297)
  • Clinical Trials (138)
  • Developmental Biology (7930)
  • Ecology (12074)
  • Epidemiology (2067)
  • Evolutionary Biology (15954)
  • Genetics (10904)
  • Genomics (14706)
  • Immunology (9844)
  • Microbiology (23582)
  • Molecular Biology (9454)
  • Neuroscience (50691)
  • Paleontology (369)
  • Pathology (1535)
  • Pharmacology and Toxicology (2674)
  • Physiology (3997)
  • Plant Biology (8639)
  • Scientific Communication and Education (1505)
  • Synthetic Biology (2388)
  • Systems Biology (6415)
  • Zoology (1344)