Topographic maps representing haptic numerosity reveals distinct sensory representations in supramodal networks

Shir Hofstetter*, Yuxuan Cai, Ben M. Harvey, Serge O. Dumoulin

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to JournalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

Dedicated maps for cognitive quantities such as timing, size and numerosity support the view that topography is a general principle of brain organization. To date, however, all of these maps were driven by the visual system. Here, we ask whether there are supramodal topographic maps representing cognitive dimensions irrespective of the stimulated sensory modality. We measured haptically and visually driven numerosity-selective neural responses using model-based analyses and ultra-high field (7T) fMRI. We found topographically organized neural populations tuned to haptic numerosity. The responses to visual or haptic numerosity shared a similar cortical network. However, the maps of the two modalities only partially overlap. Thus, although both visual and haptic numerosities are processed in a similar supramodal functional network, the underlying neural populations may be related, but distinct. Therefore, we hypothesize that overlap between modality-specific maps facilitates cross-modal interactions and supramodal representation of cognitive quantities.

Original languageEnglish
Article number221
Pages (from-to)1-13
Number of pages13
JournalNature Communications
Volume12
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 11 Jan 2021

Funding

This work was supported by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (016. Vici.185.050 to S.O.D.; 452.17.012 to B.M.H.) and the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (Ammodo award to S.O.D.).

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