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. 2011 May 22;278(1711):1476-81.
doi: 10.1098/rspb.2010.1895. Epub 2010 Oct 27.

Neural processing of imminent collision in humans

Jac Billington  1 , Richard M Wilkie, David T Field, John P Wann
Affiliations

Neural processing of imminent collision in humans

Jac Billington et al. Proc Biol Sci. .

Abstract

Detecting a looming object and its imminent collision is imperative to survival. For most humans, it is a fundamental aspect of daily activities such as driving, road crossing and participating in sport, yet little is known about how the brain both detects and responds to such stimuli. Here we use functional magnetic resonance imaging to assess neural response to looming stimuli in comparison with receding stimuli and motion-controlled static stimuli. We demonstrate for the first time that, in the human, the superior colliculus and the pulvinar nucleus of the thalamus respond to looming in addition to cortical regions associated with motor preparation. We also implicate the anterior insula in making timing computations for collision events.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Sequence of events in a looming trial (a) and receding trial (b). (1) Lines change colour to cue stimulus type. (2) Ball appears by slowly fading in for 1.5 s. (3) Ball looms towards/recedes from viewer for 1 s. (4) Ball disappears and participant has to make a TTC judgement after a random interval.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
27 mm3 ROI of left and right SC (inset) and the location of SC within the brain (main image, coronal perspective).
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Event-related time course per cent signal change values for bilateral SC. The event start and endpoints are marked by the dashed grey line; looming onset is marked by the solid grey line. Black thick line, looming; red dotted line, receding; green dashed lines, random.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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