Modulation of neural activity by angle of rotation during imagined spatial transformations.

Full Abstract

Imagined spatial transformations of objects (e.g., mental rotation) and the self (e.g., perspective taking) are psychologically dissociable. In mental rotation, the viewer transforms the location or orientation of an object relative to stable egocentric and environmental reference frames. In imagined shifts of perspective, the viewer's egocentric reference frame is transformed with respect to stable objects and environment. Using fMRI, we showed that during mental transformations of objects the right superior parietal cortex exhibited a positive linear relationship between hemodynamic response and degrees of rotation. By contrast, during imagined transformations of the self, the same regions exhibited a negative linear trend. We interpret this finding in terms of the role of parietal cortex in coding the locations of objects in relation to the body.

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Author information

Author/s: Keehner, Madeleine (M); Guerin, Scott A (SA); Miller, Michael B (MB); Turk, David J (DJ); Hegarty, Mary (M);

Affiliation: School of Psychology, Curtin University of Technology, GPO Box U 1987, Perth 6845, Western Australia, Australia. m.keehner(-atsign-)curtin.edu.au

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't; Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

Journal: NeuroImage (Neuroimage), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2006-Oct; vol 33 (issue 1) : pp 391-8

Dates: Created 2006/09/25; Completed 2006/11/30;

PMID: 16935007, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 12/26/2008)

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Adult
Cerebrovascular Circulation - physiology
Female
Functional Laterality - physiology
Humans
Image Processing, Computer-Assisted
Imagination - physiology

Imagination - physiology
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Male
Parietal Lobe - physiology
Photic Stimulation
Software
Visual Perception - physiology

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