Area-specific amblyopic effects in human occipitotemporal object representations

Neuron. 2003 Dec 4;40(5):1023-9. doi: 10.1016/s0896-6273(03)00720-7.

Abstract

The role of early visual experience in the establishment of human high-order visual areas is poorly understood. Here we investigated this issue using human amblyopia--a developmental visual disorder, which manifests a central vision (acuity) deficit. Previous fMRI studies of amblyopes have described abnormal functional activations in early retinotopic areas. Here we report the surprising finding of a selective object-related abnormality in high-order occipitotemporal cortex. Specifically, we found that face-related cortical areas show a severe disconnection from the amblyopic eye, while building-related regions remain essentially normal. The selectivity of the deficit highlights the differential computations performed in the different object-related areas and is compatible with the suggested association of face regions with analysis of fine detail.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Acoustic Stimulation / methods
  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Amblyopia / physiopathology*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Linear Models
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Occipital Lobe / physiology*
  • Photic Stimulation / methods*
  • Psychomotor Performance / physiology
  • Temporal Lobe / physiology*