Localizing Human Area MT: A Case Study Using fMRI and Motion Discrimination Task
Author(s)
Hefner, Sofia E.
Advisor(s)
Editor(s)
Collections
Supplementary to:
Permanent Link
Abstract
The middle temporal area (MT) plays a crucial role in motion discrimination and processing alongside the visual cortex in primates. This study aimed to localize the human analog of area MT (hMT) in a 21-year-old female participant using a motion discrimination task via functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in a Siemens Trio 3-Tesla scanner. The task involved viewing a series of random dot stimuli, alternating between motion (either positive/upward or negative/downward) and no motion, static blocks in the hopes of establishing direction-selective subregions in hMT. Results showed high activity on the right side of the cortex in relation to viewing motion, and specifically motion in the positive direction. When comparing the coordinates of where this activity occurred with established coordinates, we were able to determine the location of hMT of this participant (Tootell et al., 1995). On the left side, there showed a difference in activity level between viewing positive motion and negative motion in adjacent areas, a preliminary indicator of direction-selective subregions in hMT. Although our findings align with previous studies, more intensive research, on a wider number of participants, is needed to further explore the cellular organization of hMT. This study demonstrates the importance of hMT localization as a fundamental part of overall motion perception and decision-making research.
Sponsor
Date
Extent
Resource Type
Text
Resource Subtype
Undergraduate Research Option Thesis