HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Shuwairi, S. M. Articles by Johnson, S. P. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Shuwairi, S. M. Articles by Johnson, S. P.

Neural Substrates of Dynamic Object Occlusion

¹ New York University, ² University of California, Los Angeles

Reprint requests should be sent to Sarah M. Shuwairi, Department of Psychology, New York University, 6 Washington Place, New York, NY 10003, or via e-mail: sms425{at}nyu.edu, or to Scott P. Johnson, Department of Psychology and Center for Neural Science, New York University, 6 Washington Place, New York, NY 10003, or via e-mail: scott.johnson{at}nyu.edu.

In everyday environments, objects frequently go out of sight as they move and our view of them becomes obstructed by nearer objects, yet we perceive these objects as continuous and enduring entities. Here, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging with an attentive tracking paradigm to clarify the nature of perceptual and cognitive mechanisms subserving this ability to fill in the gaps in perception of dynamic object occlusion. Imaging data revealed distinct regions of cortex showing increased activity during periods of occlusion relative to full visibility. These regions may support active maintenance of a representation of the target's spatiotemporal properties ensuring that the object is perceived as a persisting entity when occluded. Our findings may shed light on the neural substrates involved in object tracking that give rise to the phenomenon of object permanence.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				Spatiotemporal object continuity in human ventral visual cortex PNAS, July 1, 2008; 105(26): 8840 - 8845.