Seeing Scenes: Topographic Visual Hallucinations Evoked by Direct Electrical Stimulation of the Parahippocampal Place Area
Publication Date
2014
Journal Title
J Neurosci
Abstract
In recent years, functional neuroimaging has disclosed a network of cortical areas in the basal temporal lobe that selectively respond to visual scenes, including the parahippocampal place area (PPA). Beyond the observation that lesions involving the PPA cause topographic disorientation, there is little causal evidence linking neural activity in that area to the perception of places. Here, we combined functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and intracranial EEG (iEEG) recordings to delineate place-selective cortex in a patient implanted with stereo-EEG electrodes for presurgical evaluation of drug-resistant epilepsy. Bipolar direct electrical stimulation of a cortical area in the collateral sulcus and medial fusiform gyrus, which was place-selective according to both fMRI and iEEG, induced a topographic visual hallucination: the patient described seeing indoor and outdoor scenes that included views of the neighborhood he lives in. By contrast, stimulating the more lateral aspect of the basal temporal lobe caused distortion of the patient's perception of faces, as recently reported (Parvizi et al., 2012). Our results support the causal role of the PPA in the perception of visual scenes, demonstrate that electrical stimulation of higher order visual areas can induce complex hallucinations, and also reaffirm direct electrical brain stimulation as a tool to assess the function of the human cerebral cortex.
Volume Number
34
Issue Number
16
Pages
5399-5405
Document Type
Article
EPub Date
2014/04/18
Status
Faculty, Northwell Researcher
Facility
School of Medicine; Northwell Health
Primary Department
Neurosurgery
Additional Departments
Radiology; Neurology
PMID
DOI
10.1523/JNEUROSCI.5202-13.2014