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Visuohaptic convergence in a corticocerebellar network
Author(s) -
Naumer Marcus J.,
Ratz Leonie,
Yalachkov Yavor,
Polony Andrea,
Doehrmann Oliver,
Van De Ven Vincent,
Müller Notger G.,
Kaiser Jochen,
Hein Grit
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
european journal of neuroscience
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.346
H-Index - 206
eISSN - 1460-9568
pISSN - 0953-816X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1460-9568.2010.07208.x
Subject(s) - convergence (economics) , haptic technology , task (project management) , cerebellum , neuroimaging , psychology , neuroscience , visual cortex , functional neuroimaging , object (grammar) , functional magnetic resonance imaging , transcranial magnetic stimulation , temporal cortex , cognitive psychology , computer science , artificial intelligence , stimulation , management , economics , economic growth
The processing of visual and haptic inputs, occurring either separately or jointly, is crucial for everyday‐life object recognition, and has been a focus of recent neuroimaging research. Previously, visuohaptic convergence has been mostly investigated with matching‐task paradigms. However, much less is known about visuohaptic convergence in the absence of additional task demands. We conducted two functional magnetic resonance imaging experiments in which subjects actively touched and/or viewed unfamiliar object stimuli without any additional task demands. In addition, we performed two control experiments with audiovisual and audiohaptic stimulation to examine the specificity of the observed visuohaptic convergence effects. We found robust visuohaptic convergence in bilateral lateral occipital cortex and anterior cerebellum. In contrast, neither the anterior cerebellum nor the lateral occipital cortex showed any involvement in audiovisual or audiohaptic convergence, indicating that multisensory convergence in these regions is specifically geared to visual and haptic inputs. These data suggest that in humans the lateral occipital cortex and the anterior cerebellum play an important role in visuohaptic processing even in the absence of additional task demands.