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Behavioral/Systems/Cognitive

Brain Activity Evoked by the Perception of Human Walking: Controlling for Meaningful Coherent Motion

Kevin A. Pelphrey, Teresa V. Mitchell, Martin J. McKeown, Jeremy Goldstein, Truett Allison and Gregory McCarthy
Journal of Neuroscience 30 July 2003, 23 (17) 6819-6825; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.23-17-06819.2003
Kevin A. Pelphrey
1Duke-UNC Brain Imaging and Analysis Center, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27710, 2Neurodevelopmental Disorders Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, 3Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27710, 4Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, West Haven, Connecticut 06520, and 5Department of Neurology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut 06520
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Teresa V. Mitchell
1Duke-UNC Brain Imaging and Analysis Center, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27710, 2Neurodevelopmental Disorders Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, 3Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27710, 4Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, West Haven, Connecticut 06520, and 5Department of Neurology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut 06520
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Martin J. McKeown
1Duke-UNC Brain Imaging and Analysis Center, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27710, 2Neurodevelopmental Disorders Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, 3Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27710, 4Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, West Haven, Connecticut 06520, and 5Department of Neurology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut 06520
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Jeremy Goldstein
1Duke-UNC Brain Imaging and Analysis Center, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27710, 2Neurodevelopmental Disorders Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, 3Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27710, 4Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, West Haven, Connecticut 06520, and 5Department of Neurology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut 06520
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Truett Allison
1Duke-UNC Brain Imaging and Analysis Center, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27710, 2Neurodevelopmental Disorders Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, 3Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27710, 4Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, West Haven, Connecticut 06520, and 5Department of Neurology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut 06520
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Gregory McCarthy
1Duke-UNC Brain Imaging and Analysis Center, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27710, 2Neurodevelopmental Disorders Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, 3Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27710, 4Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, West Haven, Connecticut 06520, and 5Department of Neurology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut 06520
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Abstract

Many functional neuroimaging studies of biological motion have used as stimuli point-light displays of walking figures and compared the resulting activations with those evoked by the same display elements moving in a random or noncoherent manner. Although these studies have established that biological motion activates the superior temporal sulcus (STS), the use of random motion controls has left open the possibility that coordinated and meaningful nonbiological motion might activate these same brain regions and thus call into question their specificity for processing biological motion. Here we used functional magnetic resonance imaging and an anatomical region-of-interest approach to test a hierarchy of three questions regarding activity within the STS. First, by comparing responses in the STS with animations of human and robot walking figures, we determined (1) that the STS is sensitive to biological motion itself, not merely to the superficial characteristics of the stimulus. Then we determined that the STS responds more strongly to biological motion (as conveyed by the walking robot) than to (2) a nonmeaningful but complex nonbiological motion (a disjointed mechanical figure) and (3) a complex and meaningful nonbiological motion (the movements of a grandfather clock). In subsequent whole-brain voxel-based analyses, we confirmed robust STS activity that was strongly right lateralized. In addition, we observed significant deactivations in the STS that differentiated biological and nonbiological motion. These voxel-based analyses also revealed regions of motion-related positive activity in other brain regions, including MT or V5, fusiform gyri, right premotor cortex, and the intraparietal sulci.

  • biological motion
  • superior temporal sulcus
  • fMRI
  • social perception
  • social cognition
  • BOLD deactivation
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The Journal of Neuroscience: 23 (17)
Journal of Neuroscience
Vol. 23, Issue 17
30 Jul 2003
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Brain Activity Evoked by the Perception of Human Walking: Controlling for Meaningful Coherent Motion
Kevin A. Pelphrey, Teresa V. Mitchell, Martin J. McKeown, Jeremy Goldstein, Truett Allison, Gregory McCarthy
Journal of Neuroscience 30 July 2003, 23 (17) 6819-6825; DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.23-17-06819.2003

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Brain Activity Evoked by the Perception of Human Walking: Controlling for Meaningful Coherent Motion
Kevin A. Pelphrey, Teresa V. Mitchell, Martin J. McKeown, Jeremy Goldstein, Truett Allison, Gregory McCarthy
Journal of Neuroscience 30 July 2003, 23 (17) 6819-6825; DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.23-17-06819.2003
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Keywords

  • biological motion
  • superior temporal sulcus
  • fMRI
  • social perception
  • social cognition
  • BOLD deactivation

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