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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2010 Aug 13.
Published in final edited form as: Neuron. 2009 Aug 13;63(3):397–405. doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2009.07.012

Figure 4. Overlay of contrast maps of category preferences in sighted and blind participants.

Figure 4

All statistical contrast maps (nonliving vs. living) were thresholded at p <.01, uncorrected (as in Figure 3). A. Regions showing category preferences are plotted for sighted participants viewing pictures and sighted participants performing the auditory size-judgment task. The greatest overlap is observed for nonliving things in medial regions on the ventral surface of occipital-temporal cortex. Voxels in lateral occipital cortex showing differential BOLD responses for living things in sighted participants performing auditory size-judgments fall within the set of voxels showing the same category preference for the picture viewing experiment. B. Regions showing category preferences are plotted for sighted participants viewing pictures and congenitally blind participants performing the auditory size-judgment task. As was observed for sighted participants performing the auditory size-judgment task (panel A), the regions showing differential BOLD responses for nonliving things were larger than those showing differential BOLD responses for living things. Voxels in blind participants in lateral occipital cortex showing a category preference for living things fall within the region identified in sighted participants viewing pictures.