Abstract
Contrasting functional connectivity of anterior face-selective (FFA) and scene-selective (PPA) regions reveals interdigitated PPA- and FFA- preferring regions within medial parietal cortex (MPC) that exhibit corresponding face- and scene-selectivity in independent functional localizer data. Based on the overlap between these regions and activation typically elicited during memory recall, we hypothesized these regions would be selectively engaged during memory recall for people and places. We tested this prediction using task-based fMRI. During fMRI scanning, 24 participants completed a memory task in which they were cued by word stimuli to recall famous people (e.g. Tom Hanks), famous places (e.g. Eiffel Tower), personally familiar people (e.g. participants’ mother) or personally familiar places (e.g. participants’ home). Consistent with our hypothesis, the PPA- and FFA- preferring regions of medial parietal cortex were selectively responsive during recall of places or people and responded more strongly during familiar than famous conditions. In a whole-brain analysis examining effects of category and familiarity revealed a larger network of regions including additional areas in medial parietal cortex, amygdala, hippocampus, lateral parietal cortex, and prefrontal cortex. For example, hippocampus showed a strong familiarity effect but no category effect, while amygdala showed a category effect but not familiarity effect. Cortical regions demonstrating a familiarity effect showed a distinct posterior-anterior gradient in preferential activation during recall of personally familiar places to personally familiar people. Intriguingly, contrasting functional connectivity within subdivisions of prefrontal cortex revealed preferential connectivity with category-selective regions on both the lateral and ventral surfaces. Collectively, these data suggest that category-selectivity, a hallmark of VTC organization, is recapitulated in MPC for memory, and may reflect a global organizing principle in the brain-regions that support high-level cognitive functions.
Acknowledgement: AS, EHS, and CIB are funded by the NIMH internal research program (ZIA-MH002893)