Inactivation of face-selective neurons alters eye movements when free viewing faces

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Azadi, Reza; Lopez, Emily; Taubert, Jessica; Patterson, Amanda; Afraz, Arash
• 署名单位: National Institutes of Health (NIH) - USA; NIH National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH); National Institutes of Health (NIH) - USA; NIH National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH); University of Queensland
• 刊物名称: PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0027-8669
• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2309906121
• 发表日期: 2024-01-16
• 关键词: inferotemporal cortex; spatial sensitivity; active neurons; RECOGNITION; monkeys; search; patch; shape; microstimulation; perception

摘要

During free viewing, faces attract gaze and induce specific fixation patterns corresponding to the facial features. This suggests that neurons encoding the facial features are in the causal chain that steers the eyes. However, there is no physiological evidence to support a mechanistic link between face-encoding neurons in high-level visual areas and the oculomotor system. In this study, we targeted the middle face patches of the inferior temporal (IT) cortex in two macaque monkeys using an functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) localizer. We then utilized muscimol microinjection to unilaterally suppress IT neural activity inside and outside the face patches and recorded eye movements while the animals free viewing natural scenes. Inactivation of the face-selective neurons altered the pattern of eye movements on faces: The monkeys found faces in the scene but neglected the eye contralateral to the inactivation hemisphere. These findings reveal the causal contribution of the high-level visual cortex in eye movements.