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Organization of high-level visual cortex in human infants

Author

Listed:
  • Ben Deen

    (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

  • Hilary Richardson

    (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

  • Daniel D. Dilks

    (Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    Emory University)

  • Atsushi Takahashi

    (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

  • Boris Keil

    (Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital
    Institute of Medical Physics and Radiation Protection, Mittelhessen University of Applied Science)

  • Lawrence L. Wald

    (Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital
    Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

  • Nancy Kanwisher

    (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

  • Rebecca Saxe

    (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

Abstract

How much of the structure of the human mind and brain is already specified at birth, and how much arises from experience? In this article, we consider the test case of extrastriate visual cortex, where a highly systematic functional organization is present in virtually every normal adult, including regions preferring behaviourally significant stimulus categories, such as faces, bodies, and scenes. Novel methods were developed to scan awake infants with fMRI, while they viewed multiple categories of visual stimuli. Here we report that the visual cortex of 4–6-month-old infants contains regions that respond preferentially to abstract categories (faces and scenes), with a spatial organization similar to adults. However, precise response profiles and patterns of activity across multiple visual categories differ between infants and adults. These results demonstrate that the large-scale organization of category preferences in visual cortex is adult-like within a few months after birth, but is subsequently refined through development.

Suggested Citation

  • Ben Deen & Hilary Richardson & Daniel D. Dilks & Atsushi Takahashi & Boris Keil & Lawrence L. Wald & Nancy Kanwisher & Rebecca Saxe, 2017. "Organization of high-level visual cortex in human infants," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 8(1), pages 1-10, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:8:y:2017:i:1:d:10.1038_ncomms13995
    DOI: 10.1038/ncomms13995
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    Cited by:

    1. Marisa Nordt & Jesse Gomez & Vaidehi S. Natu & Alex A. Rezai & Dawn Finzi & Holly Kular & Kalanit Grill-Spector, 2023. "Longitudinal development of category representations in ventral temporal cortex predicts word and face recognition," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-16, December.

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