Whole-Brain Convergence of Real-World Visual Expertise beyond Faces: Meta-Analytic Evidence for Core-Adaptive Neural Architecture
Visual expertise--the ability to discriminate highly similar exemplars quickly and accurately within a category--supports skilled performance across real-world domains and is supported by distributed neural systems. We focus on non-face expertise to test cross-domain convergence in acquired real-world visual skills, treating faces separately because socially embedded, sensitive-period-constrained processing could blur this inference. It remains unresolved whether non-face expertise across heterogeneous domains converges on a shared, domain-general whole-brain architecture, or instead recruits domain-contingent neural configurations that vary with task and stimulus demands. We conducted a coordinate-based meta-analysis of 22 task-fMRI studies spanning 11 real-world non-face expertise domains (579 participants, 210 peak-activation foci). Primary analysis revealed a robust, right-lateralized parieto-temporo-occipital circuit centered on the middle occipital gyrus, middle temporal gyrus, angular gyrus and adjoining inferior parietal lobule. We propose that this circuit constitutes a domain-general neural core that integrates fine-grained visual features with semantic associations while supporting attention-guided recognition of visually similar objects in expert performance. Subgroup and meta-regression analyses uncovered a complementary adaptive component, the engagement of which varied systematically with representational and contextual factors. Pictorial stimuli and expert-novice contrasts reliably strengthened recruitment of the right-hemisphere core, whereas symbolic stimuli engagement toward left temporal regions while selectively re-engaging right-core nodes. In addition, male-skewed samples showed attenuated left-hemisphere activation. Together, these findings delineate a stable right-hemisphere neural scaffold underlying non-face visual expertise, flexibly supplemented by left-hemisphere systems as a function of stimulus format, task demands, and demographic context, providing a whole-brain reference framework for future studies. HighlightsO_LIA coordinate-based meta-analysis integrates 22 whole-brain task-fMRI studies of real-world non-face visual expertise. C_LIO_LIResults delineate a core-adaptive architecture supporting non-face expertise across domains. C_LIO_LIA right-lateralized parieto-temporo-occipital core (AG, MOG, MTG, adjoining IPL) shows convergent recruitment across non-face domains. C_LIO_LIAdaptive left-hemisphere regions (MTG/STG/ITG/IFG; plus FG/IOG/insula) are flexibly engaged with task and stimulus demands. C_LIO_LIFindings refine neurocognitive accounts of perceptual expertise and provide a domain-spanning whole-brain reference framework for future studies. C_LI Graphical abstract O_FIG O_LINKSMALLFIG WIDTH=200 HEIGHT=125 SRC="FIGDIR/small/696823v1_ufig1.gif" ALT="Figure 1"> View larger version (33K): org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@14119a6org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@fb04cforg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1f8cd35org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@168798a_HPS_FORMAT_FIGEXP M_FIG C_FIG