An enhanced role for right hV5/MT+ in the analysis of motion in the contra- and ipsi-lateral visual hemi-fields.

Previous experiments have demonstrated that transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) of human V5/MT+, in either the left or right cerebral hemisphere, can induce deficits in visual motion perception in their respective contra- and ipsi-lateral visual hemi-fields. However, motion deficits in the ipsi-lateral hemi-field are greater when TMS is applied to V5/MT + in the right hemisphere relative to the left hemisphere. One possible explanation for this asymmetry might lie in differential stimulation of sub-divisions within V5/MT + across the two hemispheres. V5/MT + has two major sub-divisions; MT/TO-1 and MST/TO-2, the latter area contains neurons with large receptive fields (RFs) that extend up to 15° further into the ipsi-lateral hemi-field than the former. We wanted to examine whether applying TMS to MT/TO-1 and MST/TO-2 separately could explain the previously reported functional asymmetries for ipsi-lateral motion processing in V5/MT + across right and left cerebral hemispheres. MT/TO-1 and MST/TO-2 were identified in seven subjects using fMRI localisers. In psychophysical experiments subjects identified the translational direction (up/down) of coherently moving dots presented in either the left or right visual field whilst repetitive TMS (25 Hz; 70%) was applied synchronously with stimulus presentation. Application of TMS to MT/TO-1 and MST/TO-2 in the right hemisphere affected translational direction discrimination in both contra-lateral and ipsi-lateral visual fields. In contrast, deficits of motion perception following application of TMS to MT/TO-1 and MST/TO-2 in the left hemisphere were restricted to the contra-lateral visual field. This result suggests an enhanced role for the right hemisphere in processing translational motion across the full visual field.

A Direct Demonstration of Functional Differences between Subdivisions of Human V5/MT.

Two subdivisions of human V5/MT+: one located posteriorly (MT/TO-1) and the other more anteriorly (MST/TO-2) were identified in human participants using functional magnetic resonance imaging on the basis of their representations of the ipsilateral versus contralateral visual field. These subdivisions were then targeted for disruption by the application of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS). The rTMS was delivered to cortical areas while participants performed direction discrimination tasks involving 3 different types of moving stimuli defined by the translational, radial, or rotational motion of dot patterns. For translational motion, performance was significantly reduced relative to baseline when rTMS was applied to both MT/TO-1 and MST/TO-2. For radial motion, there was a differential effect between MT/TO-1 and MST/TO-2, with only disruption of the latter area affecting performance. The rTMS failed to reveal a complete dissociation between MT/TO-1 and MST/TO-2 in terms of their contribution to the perception of rotational motion. On the basis of these results, MT/TO-1 and MST/TO-2 appear to be functionally distinct subdivisions of hV5/MT+. While both areas appear to be implicated in the processing of translational motion, only the anterior region (MST/TO-2) makes a causal contribution to the perception of radial motion.

Differential processing of the direction and focus of expansion of optic flow stimuli in areas MST and V3A of the human visual cortex.

Human neuropsychological and neuroimaging studies have raised the possibility that different attributes of optic flow stimuli, namely radial direction and the position of the focus of expansion (FOE), are processed within separate cortical areas. In the human brain, visual areas V5/MT+ and V3A have been proposed as integral to the analysis of these different attributes of optic flow stimuli. To establish direct causal relationships between neural activity in human (h)V5/MT+ and V3A and the perception of radial motion direction and FOE position, we used transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to disrupt cortical activity in these areas while participants performed behavioral tasks dependent on these different aspects of optic flow stimuli. The cortical regions of interest were identified in seven human participants using standard functional MRI retinotopic mapping techniques and functional localizers. TMS to area V3A was found to disrupt FOE positional judgments but not radial direction discrimination, whereas the application of TMS to an anterior subdivision of hV5/MT+, MST/TO-2 produced the reverse effects, disrupting radial direction discrimination but eliciting no effect on the FOE positional judgment task. This double dissociation demonstrates that FOE position and radial direction of optic flow stimuli are signaled independently by neural activity in areas hV5/MT+ and V3A.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Optic flow constitutes a biologically relevant visual cue as we move through any environment. With the use of neuroimaging and brain-stimulation techniques, this study demonstrates that separate human brain areas are involved in the analysis of the direction of radial motion and the focus of expansion in optic flow. This dissociation reveals the existence of separate processing pathways for the analysis of different attributes of optic flow that are important for the guidance of self-locomotion and object avoidance.

A database of whole-body action videos for the study of action, emotion, and untrustworthiness.

We present a database of high-definition (HD) videos for the study of traits inferred from whole-body actions. Twenty-nine actors (19 female) were filmed performing different actions-walking, picking up a box, putting down a box, jumping, sitting down, and standing and acting-while conveying different traits, including four emotions (anger, fear, happiness, sadness), untrustworthiness, and neutral, where no specific trait was conveyed. For the actions conveying the four emotions and untrustworthiness, the actions were filmed multiple times, with the actor conveying the traits with different levels of intensity. In total, we made 2,783 action videos (in both two-dimensional and three-dimensional format), each lasting 7 s with a frame rate of 50 fps. All videos were filmed in a green-screen studio in order to isolate the action information from all contextual detail and to provide a flexible stimulus set for future use. In order to validate the traits conveyed by each action, we asked participants to rate each of the actions corresponding to the trait that the actor portrayed in the two-dimensional videos. To provide a useful database of stimuli of multiple actions conveying multiple traits, each video name contains information on the gender of the actor, the action executed, the trait conveyed, and the rating of its perceived intensity. All videos can be downloaded free at the following address: http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~neb506/databases.html. We discuss potential uses for the database in the analysis of the perception of whole-body actions.

Confronting atrial fibrillation in the elderly: stroke risk stratification and emerging antithrombotic therapies.

As many as one in four patients over age 40 will develop atrial fibrillation (AF), a significant risk factor for stroke. Although most clinicians are aware of the benefits of antithrombotic therapy, especially warfarin, for prevention of stroke, current guidelines for selection of antithrombotic therapy are confusing and inconsistently applied. The CHADS2 risk-stratification scheme, based on a clinical history of heart failure, hypertension, age >75, diabetes, or prior stroke, is a useful clinical tool to identify patients likely to benefit from warfarin, distinguishing these patients from patients at lower risk for whom aspirin is sufficient. Risk factors for intracerebral hemorrhage include anticoagulation intensity, hypertension, age, and previous stroke or cerebrovascular disease. Cerebral amyloid angiopathy and leukoaraiosis identified by high-resolution brain imaging are under investigation, but better schemes for stratifying bleeding risk are needed. In the future, new anticoagulants that are safer and easier to administer than warfarin will improve the benefit/risk burden for elderly patients with AF.