An fMRI study of parietal cortex involvement in the visual guidance of locomotion

Billington, J., Field, D. T. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4041-8404, Wilkie, R. M. and Wann, J. P. (2010) An fMRI study of parietal cortex involvement in the visual guidance of locomotion. Journal of Experimental Psychology. Human Perception and Performance, 36 (6). pp. 1495-1507. ISSN 0096-1523 doi: 10.1037/a0018728

Abstract/Summary

Locomoting through the environment typically involves anticipating impending changes in heading trajectory in addition to maintaining the current direction of travel. We explored the neural systems involved in the “far road” and “near road” mechanisms proposed by Land and Horwood (1995) using simulated forward or backward travel where participants were required to gauge their current direction of travel (rather than directly control it). During forward egomotion, the distant road edges provided future path information, which participants used to improve their heading judgments. During backward egomotion, the road edges did not enhance performance because they no longer provided prospective information. This behavioral dissociation was reflected at the neural level, where only simulated forward travel increased activation in a region of the superior parietal lobe and the medial intraparietal sulcus. Providing only near road information during a forward heading judgment task resulted in activation in the motion complex. We propose a complementary role for the posterior parietal cortex and motion complex in detecting future path information and maintaining current lane positioning, respectively. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)

Item Type	Article
URI	https://reading-clone.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/15521
Identification Number/DOI	10.1037/a0018728
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Interdisciplinary Research Centres (IDRCs) > Centre for Integrative Neuroscience and Neurodynamics (CINN) Life Sciences > School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences > Neuroscience Life Sciences > School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences > Perception and Action
Publisher	American Psychological Association
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