Neural components of topographical orientation / Geoffrey Karl Aguirre.

Format:

Book

Manuscript

Microformat

Thesis/Dissertation

Author/Creator:

Aguirre, Geoffrey Karl.

Contributor:

D'Esposito, Mark, advisor.

University of Pennsylvania.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Penn dissertations--Neuroscience.

Neuroscience--Penn dissertations.

Neurosciences.

Academic Dissertations as Topic.

Medical Subjects:

Neurosciences.

Academic Dissertations as Topic.

Local Subjects:

Penn dissertations--Neuroscience.

Neuroscience--Penn dissertations.

Physical Description:

v, 210 pages : illustrations (some color) ; 29 cm

Production:

1998.

Summary:

Over the last century several dozen case reports have described patients with localized brain damage who are unable to find their way within their locomotor environment. While these cases of topographical disorientation might be taken as evidence of neural substrates specialized for the representation of large scale space, the heterogeneity and specificity of these cases has been debated. A comprehensive review presented here suggests that there are different manifestations of the disorder that vary in the selectivity of the deficit for topographical information and the nature of the cognitive impairment. It is argued that, within a logical framework elaborated here, this model of topographical disorientation can be tested by examining patterns of regional neural activity in intact subjects during a variety of behavioral tasks. As such measures might be obtained using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), a methodology for conducting sensitive and specific analyses of fMRI experiments is developed. Next, two experiments are presented to test two hypotheses regarding the neural substrates of topographical disorientation: (i) separable, posterior, dorsal and ventral cortical regions subserve the perception and long-term representation of position and identity, respectively, of landmarks; (ii) there exists a distinct area of the ventral occipitotemporal cortex that responds maximally to building stimuli and may play a role in the perception of salient landmarks, The results of these experiments support the taxonomy of topographical disorientation offered at the outset and are discussed in terms of the functional structure of visual processing and the influence of environmental conditions upon neural organization.

Notes:

Adviser: Mark D'Esposito.

Thesis (Ph.D. in Neuroscience) -- University of Pennsylvania, 1998.

Includes bibliographical references.

Local Notes:

University Microfilms order no.: 98-29852.

OCLC:

187469621