Looming sensitive cortical regions without V1 input: evidence from a patient with bilateral cortical blindness.

ABSTRACT: Fast and automatic behavioral responses are required to avoid collision with an approaching stimulus. Accordingly, looming stimuli have been found to be highly salient and efficient attractors of attention due to the implication of potential collision and potential threat. Here, we address the question of whether looming motion is processed in the absence of any functional primary visual cortex and consequently without awareness. For this, we investigated a patient (TN) suffering from complete, bilateral damage to his primary visual cortex. Using an fMRI paradigm, we measured TN's brain activation during the presentation of looming, receding, rotating, and static point lights, of which he was unaware. When contrasted with other conditions, looming was found to produce bilateral activation

SUBMITTER: Hervais-Adelman A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4614319 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature