Separate cortical stages in amodal completion revealed by functional magnetic resonance adaptation

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Objects in our environment are often partly occluded, yet we effortlessly perceive them as whole and complete. This phenomenon is called visual amodal completion. Psychophysical investigations suggest that the process of completion s...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Singer Wolf, Weigelt Sarah, Muckli Lars
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2007-08-01
Series:BMC Neuroscience
Online Access:http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2202/8/70
_version_ 1818641421583777792
author Singer Wolf
Weigelt Sarah
Muckli Lars
author_facet Singer Wolf
Weigelt Sarah
Muckli Lars
author_sort Singer Wolf
collection DOAJ
description <p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Objects in our environment are often partly occluded, yet we effortlessly perceive them as whole and complete. This phenomenon is called visual amodal completion. Psychophysical investigations suggest that the process of completion starts from a representation of the (visible) physical features of the stimulus and ends with a completed representation of the stimulus. The goal of our study was to investigate both stages of the completion process by localizing both brain regions involved in processing the physical features of the stimulus as well as brain regions representing the completed stimulus.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Using fMRI adaptation we reveal clearly distinct regions in the visual cortex of humans involved in processing of amodal completion: early visual cortex – presumably V1 -processes the local contour information of the stimulus whereas regions in the inferior temporal cortex represent the completed shape. Furthermore, our data suggest that at the level of inferior temporal cortex information regarding the original local contour information is not preserved but replaced by the representation of the amodally completed percept.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These findings provide neuroimaging evidence for a multiple step theory of amodal completion and further insights into the neuronal correlates of visual perception.</p>
first_indexed 2024-12-16T23:26:54Z
format Article
id doaj.art-4cdfcb9dec054df293703e095ddc98b5
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 1471-2202
language English
last_indexed 2024-12-16T23:26:54Z
publishDate 2007-08-01
publisher BMC
record_format Article
series BMC Neuroscience
spelling doaj.art-4cdfcb9dec054df293703e095ddc98b52022-12-21T22:11:59ZengBMCBMC Neuroscience1471-22022007-08-01817010.1186/1471-2202-8-70Separate cortical stages in amodal completion revealed by functional magnetic resonance adaptationSinger WolfWeigelt SarahMuckli Lars<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Objects in our environment are often partly occluded, yet we effortlessly perceive them as whole and complete. This phenomenon is called visual amodal completion. Psychophysical investigations suggest that the process of completion starts from a representation of the (visible) physical features of the stimulus and ends with a completed representation of the stimulus. The goal of our study was to investigate both stages of the completion process by localizing both brain regions involved in processing the physical features of the stimulus as well as brain regions representing the completed stimulus.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Using fMRI adaptation we reveal clearly distinct regions in the visual cortex of humans involved in processing of amodal completion: early visual cortex – presumably V1 -processes the local contour information of the stimulus whereas regions in the inferior temporal cortex represent the completed shape. Furthermore, our data suggest that at the level of inferior temporal cortex information regarding the original local contour information is not preserved but replaced by the representation of the amodally completed percept.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These findings provide neuroimaging evidence for a multiple step theory of amodal completion and further insights into the neuronal correlates of visual perception.</p>http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2202/8/70
spellingShingle Singer Wolf
Weigelt Sarah
Muckli Lars
Separate cortical stages in amodal completion revealed by functional magnetic resonance adaptation
BMC Neuroscience
title Separate cortical stages in amodal completion revealed by functional magnetic resonance adaptation
title_full Separate cortical stages in amodal completion revealed by functional magnetic resonance adaptation
title_fullStr Separate cortical stages in amodal completion revealed by functional magnetic resonance adaptation
title_full_unstemmed Separate cortical stages in amodal completion revealed by functional magnetic resonance adaptation
title_short Separate cortical stages in amodal completion revealed by functional magnetic resonance adaptation
title_sort separate cortical stages in amodal completion revealed by functional magnetic resonance adaptation
url http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2202/8/70
work_keys_str_mv AT singerwolf separatecorticalstagesinamodalcompletionrevealedbyfunctionalmagneticresonanceadaptation
AT weigeltsarah separatecorticalstagesinamodalcompletionrevealedbyfunctionalmagneticresonanceadaptation
AT mucklilars separatecorticalstagesinamodalcompletionrevealedbyfunctionalmagneticresonanceadaptation