Skip Navigation


Cerebral Cortex Advance Access originally published online on June 8, 2005
Cerebral Cortex 2006 16(3):437-445; doi:10.1093/cercor/bhi123
This Article
Right arrow Full Text Freely available
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow Supplementary Material
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
16/3/437    most recent
bhi123v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (27)
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Noppeney, U.
Right arrow Articles by Friston, K. J.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Noppeney, U.
Right arrow Articles by Friston, K. J.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© The Author 2005. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oupjournals.org

Two Distinct Neural Mechanisms for Category-selective Responses

Uta Noppeney, Cathy J. Price, Will D. Penny and Karl J. Friston

Wellcome Department of Imaging Neuroscience, University College London, 12 Queen Square, London WC1 N3BG, UK

Address correspondence to U. Noppeney, Wellcome Department of Imaging Neuroscience, University College London, 12 Queen Square, London WC1 N3BG, UK. Email: u.noppeney{at}fil.ion.ucl.ac.uk.

The cognitive and neural mechanisms mediating category-selective responses in the human brain remain controversial. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging and effective connectivity analyses (Dynamic Causal Modelling), we investigated animal- and tool-selective responses by manipulating stimulus modality (pictures versus words) and task (implicit versus explicit semantic). We dissociated two distinct mechanisms that engender category selectivity: in the ventral occipito-temporal cortex, tool-selective responses were observed irrespective of task, greater for pictures and mediated by bottom-up effects. In a left temporo-parietal action system, tool-selective responses were observed irrespective of modality, greater for explicit semantic tasks and mediated by top-down modulation from the left prefrontal cortex. These distinct activation and connectivity patterns suggest that the two systems support different cognitive operations, with the ventral occipito-temporal regions engaged in structural processing and the dorsal visuo-motor system in strategic semantic processing. Consistent with current semantic theories, explicit semantic processing of tools might thus rely on reactivating their associated action representations via top-down modulation. In terms of neuronal mechanisms, the category selectivity may be mediated by distinct top-down (task-dependent) and bottom-up (stimulus-dependent) mechanisms.

Key Words: category selectivity • dynamic causal modelling • effective connectivity • functional imaging • semantic memory


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 J. Neurosci.Home page
A. P. Leff, T. M. Schofield, K. E. Stephan, J. T. Crinion, K. J. Friston, and C. J. Price
The Cortical Dynamics of Intelligible Speech
J. Neurosci., December 3, 2008; 28(49): 13209 - 13215.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USAHome page
J. Almeida, B. Z. Mahon, K. Nakayama, and A. Caramazza
Unconscious processing dissociates along categorical lines
PNAS, September 30, 2008; 105(39): 15214 - 15218.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Cereb CortexHome page
H. E. Schendan and C. E. Stern
Where Vision Meets Memory: Prefrontal-Posterior Networks for Visual Object Constancy during Categorization and Recognition
Cereb Cortex, July 1, 2008; 18(7): 1695 - 1711.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Cereb CortexHome page
J. Fan, P. R. Hof, K. G. Guise, J. A. Fossella, and M. I. Posner
The Functional Integration of the Anterior Cingulate Cortex during Conflict Processing
Cereb Cortex, April 1, 2008; 18(4): 796 - 805.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Cereb CortexHome page
U. Noppeney, O. Josephs, J. Hocking, C. J. Price, and K. J. Friston
The Effect of Prior Visual Information on Recognition of Speech and Sounds
Cereb Cortex, March 1, 2008; 18(3): 598 - 609.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Cereb CortexHome page
S. J. H. Ebisch, C. Babiloni, C. Del Gratta, A. Ferretti, M. G. Perrucci, M. Caulo, M. M. Sitskoorn, and G. L. Romani
Human Neural Systems for Conceptual Knowledge of Proper Object Use: A Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study
Cereb Cortex, November 1, 2007; 17(11): 2744 - 2751.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Cereb CortexHome page
S. L. Fairhall and A. Ishai
Effective Connectivity within the Distributed Cortical Network for Face Perception
Cereb Cortex, October 1, 2007; 17(10): 2400 - 2406.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.