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Functional specialization in human dorsal pathway for stereoscopic depth processing

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Abstract

Binocular disparity, a primary cue for stereoscopic depth perception, is widely represented in visual cortex. However, the functional specialization in the disparity processing network remains unclear. Using magnetic resonance imaging-guided transcranial magnetic stimulation, we studied the causal contributions of V3A and MT+ to stereoscopic depth perception. Subjects viewed random-dot stereograms forming transparent planes with various interplane disparities. Their smallest detectable disparity and largest detectable disparity were measured in two experiments. We found that the smallest detectable disparity was affected by V3A, but not MT+ , stimulation. On the other hand, the largest detectable disparity was affected by both V3A and MT+ stimulation. Our results suggest different roles of V3A and MT+ in stereoscopic depth processing.

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The data that support the findings of this study are available upon request.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by NSFC 31930053 and NSFC 31971031. We thank Siyuan Cheng for proofreading.

Funding

This work was supported by NSFC 31930053 and NSFC 31971031.

Author information

Author notes

  1. Nihong Chen and Zhimin Chen have contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, School of Social Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China

    Nihong Chen

  2. THU-IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing, 100084, China

    Nihong Chen

  3. School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China

    Zhimin Chen & Fang Fang

  4. Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health, Beijing, China

    Fang Fang

  5. PKU-IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing, China

    Fang Fang

  6. Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China

    Fang Fang

Authors
  1. Nihong Chen
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  2. Zhimin Chen
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  3. Fang Fang
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection, and analysis were performed by NC and ZC. The first draft of the manuscript was written by NC and ZC. All authors revised the manuscript.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Nihong Chen or Fang Fang.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Ethics approval

The experimental procedures and protocols have been approved by the human subject review committee of Peking University.

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All subjects gave written, informed consent in accordance with the procedures and protocols approved by the human subject review committee of Peking University.

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We confirm that we have given due consideration to the protection of intellectual property associated with this work and that there are no impediments to publication.

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The codes for stimuli presentation of this study are available upon request.

Additional information

Communicated by Melvyn A. Goodale.

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Cite this article

Chen, N., Chen, Z. & Fang, F. Functional specialization in human dorsal pathway for stereoscopic depth processing. Exp Brain Res 238, 2581–2588 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-020-05918-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-020-05918-4

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