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

Animacy and real world size shape object representations in the human medial temporal lobes

Anna Blumenthal, Bobby Stojanoski, Chris Martin, Rhodri Cusack, Stefan Köhler
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/304824
Anna Blumenthal
1department of Psychology, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario
2The Brain and Mind Institute, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Bobby Stojanoski
1department of Psychology, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario
2The Brain and Mind Institute, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Chris Martin
3Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Rhodri Cusack
4Department of Psychology, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Stefan Köhler
1department of Psychology, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario
2The Brain and Mind Institute, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario
5Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest, Toronto, Canada
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • Abstract
  • Full Text
  • Info/History
  • Metrics
  • Preview PDF
Loading

ABSTRACT

Identifying what an object is, and whether an object has been encountered before, is a crucial aspect of human behavior. Despite this importance, we do not have a complete understanding of the neural basis of these abilities. Investigations into the neural organization of human object representations have revealed category specific organization in the ventral visual stream in perceptual tasks. Interestingly, these categories fall within broader domains of organization, with distinctions between animate, inanimate large, and inanimate small objects. While there is some evidence for category specific effects in the medial temporal lobe (MTL), it is currently unclear whether domain level organization is also present across these structures. To this end, we used fMRI with a continuous recognition memory task. Stimuli were images of objects from several different categories, which were either animate or inanimate, or large or small within the inanimate domain. We employed representational similarity analysis (RSA) to test the hypothesis that object-evoked responses in MTL structures during recognition-memory judgments also show evidence for domain-level organization along both dimensions. Our data support this hypothesis. Specifically, object representations were shaped by either animacy, real-world size, or both, in perirhinal and parahippocampal cortex, as well as the hippocampus. While sensitivity to these dimensions differed when structures when probed individually, hinting at interesting links to functional differentiation, similarities in organization across MTL structures were more prominent overall. These results argue for continuity in the organization of object representations in the ventral visual stream and the MTL.

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-ND 4.0 International license.
Back to top
PreviousNext
Posted April 20, 2018.
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.
Animacy and real world size shape object representations in the human medial temporal lobes
(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
Animacy and real world size shape object representations in the human medial temporal lobes
Anna Blumenthal, Bobby Stojanoski, Chris Martin, Rhodri Cusack, Stefan Köhler
bioRxiv 304824; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/304824
Reddit logo Twitter logo Facebook logo LinkedIn logo Mendeley logo
Citation Tools
Animacy and real world size shape object representations in the human medial temporal lobes
Anna Blumenthal, Bobby Stojanoski, Chris Martin, Rhodri Cusack, Stefan Köhler
bioRxiv 304824; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/304824

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 (4234)
  • Biochemistry (9129)
  • Bioengineering (6782)
  • Bioinformatics (23999)
  • Biophysics (12125)
  • Cancer Biology (9534)
  • Cell Biology (13776)
  • Clinical Trials (138)
  • Developmental Biology (7635)
  • Ecology (11699)
  • Epidemiology (2066)
  • Evolutionary Biology (15509)
  • Genetics (10644)
  • Genomics (14324)
  • Immunology (9480)
  • Microbiology (22836)
  • Molecular Biology (9089)
  • Neuroscience (48987)
  • Paleontology (355)
  • Pathology (1482)
  • Pharmacology and Toxicology (2570)
  • Physiology (3845)
  • Plant Biology (8331)
  • Scientific Communication and Education (1471)
  • Synthetic Biology (2296)
  • Systems Biology (6190)
  • Zoology (1301)