| |
Abstract:
Using direction of gaze to determine where another person is
attending is an important aspect of social interaction. Previous
neuroimaging results suggest that the superior temporal sulcus
(STS) is active when attending to gaze direction, eye movements,
and biological motion (Allison et al., 2000, TICS). We attempted to
define more specifically the brain networks responsible for gaze
perception by using a novel task that required subjects to make
precise discriminations concerning direction of gaze. In control
tasks an arrow provided directional information instead of the
eyes, or the eyes moved without providing relevant directional
information. In a group of 10 participants, STS was activated more
by direction cues from gaze than from the arrow, and more by eye
motion when it provided directional information than when it
didn't. These data support the idea that processing in STS
contributes to the analysis of meaningful eye motion that can then
influence direction of attention. Furthermore, activity in fusiform
face-responsive areas was greater when attending to gaze compared
to the arrow on a face, and greater in the eye-motion control task
compared to the gaze task. These results combined with other
activations in parietal, frontal, and occipital cortices for gaze
help define the interacting networks that mediate face and gaze
perception, and may have implications for understanding
pathological dysfunctions in these processes.
|
