A network linking scene perception and spatial memory systems in posterior cerebral cortex

• DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-22848-z
• Publication Date: 2021-05-11T10:04:54Z
• Authors: Adam Steel; Madeleine M. Bill...; Edward H. Silson; Caroline E. Rober...
• Keywords: Adult; Cerebral Cortex; Male; 0301 basic medicine; Science; Q; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Article; Young Adult; 03 medical and health sciences; 0302 clinical medicine; Mental Recall; Visual Perception; Humans; Female; Nerve Net; Spatial Memory; Spatial Navigation

AbstractThe neural systems supporting scene-perception and spatial-memory systems of the human brain are well-described. But how do these neural systems interact? Here, using fine-grained individual-subject fMRI, we report three cortical areas of the human brain, each lying immediately anterior to a region of the scene perception network in posterior cerebral cortex, that selectively activate when recalling familiar real-world locations. Despite their close proximity to the scene-perception areas, network analyses show that these regions constitute a distinct functional network that interfaces with spatial memory systems during naturalistic scene understanding. These “place-memory areas” offer a new framework for understanding how the brain implements memory-guided visual behaviors, including navigation.