Abstract
Neuroimaging studies have identified three scene-selective
regions in human cortex: parahippocampal place area (PPA),
retrosplenial complex (RSC), and occipital place area (OPA).
However, the particular scene information represented in each
region is unknown, especially for the least-studied OPA. Here we
investigate how OPA represents two critical sources of scene
information: i) spatial boundary (e.g., the external
shape of the space) and ii) content (i.e., the internal elements
such as furniture). To test spatial boundary representation, we
examined responses in OPA to images of intact rooms and these same
rooms in which the walls, floors, and ceilings were fractured and
rearranged, disrupting spatial boundary. OPA responded similarly to
intact and fractured rooms, suggesting OPA does not represent
spatial boundary per se, but rather the local elements that compose
the space themselves, independent of their spatial arrangement. By
contrast, PPA and RSC were sensitive to spatial boundary,
responding more to intact than fractured rooms. Next, to test scene
content representation, we examined responses in OPA to images of
furniture and non-furniture objects. We found OPA (and PPA)
responded selectively to furniture. However, while both OPA and PPA
represent scene content, they do so differently; in another test,
only OPA was sensitive to the number of pieces of furniture,
suggesting OPA represents the local elements of scene content,
responding more when more such elements were presented. Taken
together, these findings reveal that OPA analyzes local scene
elements - both in spatial boundary and scene content
representation - while PPA and RSC represent global scene
properties.
Table of Contents
Introduction...6
Methods...7
Results...10
Discussion...14
References...18
Figures...21
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