Biology subjects

Ramezanpour, H.

Publications and source records attributed to Ramezanpour, H..

2 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2019

Decoding of the other’s focus of attention by a temporal cortex module

Faces attract the observers attention towards objects and locations of interest for the other, thereby allowing the two agents to establish joint attention. Previous work has delineated a network of cortical \"patches\" in the macaque cortex, processing faces, eventually also extracting information on the others gaze direction. Yet, the neural mechanism that links information on gaze direction, guiding the observers attention to the relevant object has remained elusive. Here we present electrophysiological evidence for the existence of a distinct \"gaze-following patch (GFP)\" with neurons that establish this linkage in a highly flexible manner. The others gaze and the object, singled out by the gaze, are linked only if this linkage is pertinent within the prevailing social context. The properties of these neurons establish the GFP as a key switch in controlling social interactions based on the others gaze.\n\nOne Sentence SummaryNeurons in a \"gaze-following patch\" in the posterior temporal cortex orchestrate the flexible linkage between the others gaze and objects of interest to both, the other and the observer.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2019

A fronto-temporo-parietal network disambiguates potential objects of joint attention

We use the others gaze direction to identify her/his object of interest and to shift our attention to the same object, i.e. to establish joint attention. However, gaze direction may not be sufficient to unambiguously identify the object of interest as the others gaze may hit more than one object. In this case, the observer must use a priori information to disambiguate the object choice. Using fMRI, we suggest that the disambiguation is based on a 3-component network. A first component, the well-known gaze following patch in the posterior STS is activated by gaze following per se. BOLD activity here is determined exclusively by the usage of gaze direction and is independent of the need to disambiguate the relevant object. On the other hand, BOLD activity revealing a priori information for the disambiguation and starting early enough to this end is confined to a patch of cortex at the inferior frontal junction. Finally, BOLD activity reflecting the convergence of both, a priori information and gaze direction, needed to shift attention to a particular object location is confined to the posterior parietal cortex.

neuroscience↗