Cortical network for eye gaze perception
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1
Department of Psycohlogy, University of Tampere, Finland
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2
INSERM, Ecole Normale Superieure, United Kingdom
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3
Department of Psychology, Princeton University, United States
Both typically developing individuals and people with Autism Spectrum Conditions can judge gaze direction accurately and show gaze-triggered shifts of attention towards the direction of others’ gaze1. By contrast, only typically developing individuals readily use gaze to read others’ mental states and intentions2. This suggests a dissociation between two aspects of gaze processing — perceptual/attentional processes and post-perceptual ‘social cognitive’ mechanisms. However, their neural mechanisms are poorly understood. One proposal is that the answer lies in the interaction between a ‘core’ face-specific system and ‘extended’ systems involved in multiple aspects of attention and social cognition3. This was addressed using functional imaging with a sample of typically developing individuals. We aimed at identifying the brain regions that showed differential connectivity with core face perception structures when viewing gaze shifts relative to control eye movements (blinks). The functional connectivity of the core and extended face perception systems was assessed using psychophysiological interactions in the general linear model. This identified a perceptual/attentional gaze perception network comprising the fusiform gyrus, superior temporal sulcus, MT/V5, inferior parietal lobule, and frontal eye fields. A further analysis demonstrated that connectivity between temporal and anterior cingulate regions implicated in reading other’s intentions (or theory of mind) was correlated with a measure of participants’ autistic traits; consistent with the involvement of this latter network in social cognitive aspects of gaze perception. In conclusion, our study provides evidence for further fractionation in the distributed neural network for face perception3 by demonstrating a functional cortical network for eye gaze perception. This is evidenced by i) context-specific (i.e. viewing gaze shifts vs. blinks) alterations in the dynamic coupling between face-responsive, attentional and motion-sensitive brain networks and ii) individual differences (i.e. autistic traits) influencing the dynamic coupling of face perception systems and theory of mind systems in the anterior cingulate cortex.
References
1. Nation, K., and Penny, S. (2008) Sensitivity to eye gaze in autism: Is it normal? Is it automatic? Is it social? Dev Psychopathol 20, 79-97
2. Baron-Cohen, S., et al. (1995) Are children with autism blind to the mentalistic significance of the eyes? Developmental Psychology 12, 379-398
3. Haxby, J.V., et al. (2000) The distributed human neural system for face perception. Trends in Cognitive Sciences 4, 223-233
Conference:
10th International Conference on Cognitive Neuroscience, Bodrum, Türkiye, 1 Sep - 5 Sep, 2008.
Presentation Type:
Poster Presentation
Topic:
Perceptual Processing and Recognition
Citation:
Nummenmaa
L,
Passamonti
L,
Engell
A,
Rowe
JB and
Calder
A
(2008). Cortical network for eye gaze perception.
Conference Abstract:
10th International Conference on Cognitive Neuroscience.
doi: 10.3389/conf.neuro.09.2009.01.333
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Received:
15 Dec 2008;
Published Online:
15 Dec 2008.
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Correspondence:
Lauri Nummenmaa, Department of Psycohlogy, University of Tampere, Tampere, Finland, lauri.nummenmaa@utu.fi