Dissociation between Attention-Dependent and Spatially Specific Illusory Shape Responses within the Topographic Areas of the Posterior Parietal Cortex

The human visual system consists of multiple topographic maps that extend from the early visual cortex (EVC) along the dor-sal and ventral processing streams. Responses to illusory shapes within these maps have been demonstrated in the ventral stream areas, in particular the lateral occipital complex (LOC). Recently, the intraparietal sulcus (IPS) of the dorsal stream has been linked to the processing of illusory shapes defined by motion. It remains unclear whether the topographically organ-ized parietal areas also respond to stationary illusory shapes, which would suggest their generic role in representing illusory content. In the current study we measured brain responses using fMRI while 30 human participants (12 male) observed flick-ering inducers around the fixation task. The inducers either formed an illusory diamond in the center, a triangle in the left or right hemifield, or were inverted such that no illusory figure was formed. We compared responses of parietal regions IPS0-IPS5 and SPL1 to each illusory figure with the nonillusory condition. To determine the role of attentional modulation on illusory shape responses we manipulated the difficulty of the fixation task. Our results show that all IPS areas responded to illusory shapes. The more posterior areas IPS0-IPS3 additionally displayed a preference toward contralateral shapes, while the more anterior areas IPS4 and IPS5 showed response attenuation with increased task difficulty. We suggest that the IPS can represent illusory content generated not only by moving, but also by stationary stimuli, and that there is a functional dis-sociation between attention-dependent anterior and spatially specific posterior topographic maps.

Automated summary

This study found that different regions of the human visual system respond to illusory shapes, with the intraparietal sulcus areas showing a preference towards contralateral shapes. Additionally, as task difficulty increased, anterior areas displayed response attenuation. The research suggests that the intraparietal sulcus can represent illusory content generated not only by moving stimuli, but also by stationary stimuli.