The role of the posterior parietal cortex in human object recognition: a functional magnetic resonance imaging study

The mechanisms involved in visual object recognition from non-canonical viewpoints were investigated using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). We used a passive observation task and found three areas activated more strongly in the non-canonical viewing condition compared with the canonical viewing condition. First, it was found that the fusiform gyrus and posterior part of the inferior temporal cortex were involved in the processing of shape information. Next, it was found that the posterior parietal cortex, mainly the superior parietal lobule and the ventral part of premotor area were involved in visuospatial processing and accessing sensorimotor knowledge. These results may indicate that recognition from non-canonical viewpoints is supported by using functional properties of the object, which require more real-time processing for object manipulation. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.