Neural Mechanisms of Transsaccadic Integration of Visual Features

This thesis explores the neural mechanisms of transsaccadic integration of visual features. In the study, I investigated the cortical correlates of transsaccadic integration of object orientation in multiple reference frames. In a functional MRI adaptation (fMRIa) paradigm, participants viewed sets of two orientation stimuli in each trial and were asked to indicate if the orientations were the same (Repeat condition) or different (Novel condition). Stimuli were presented in one of three spatial conditions: 1) space-fixed, 2) retina-fixed and 3) frame-independent. Results indicate that, in addition to common activation in frontal motor cortical regions in all three spatial conditions, parietal and occipitotemporal regions are active in the space-fixed condition, parietofrontal regions are active in the retina-fixed condition, and parietofrontal and occipitotemporal regions are active in the frame-independent condition. In conclusion, these results indicate that transsaccadic integration involves differential activation of cortical areas, depending on the frame of reference.