Abstract
In the monkey brain, two interconnected cortical areas have distinctive
neuronal responses to visual, tactile, and auditory stimuli. These
areas are
the ventral intraparietal area (VIP) and a polysensory zone in the
precentral gyrus (PZ). The multimodal neurons in these areas typically
respond
to objects touching, near, or looming toward the body surface. Electrical
stimulation of these areas evokes defensive-like withdrawing or blocking
movements. These areas have been suggested to participate in a range
of functions including navigation by optic flow, attention to nearby
space,
and the processing of object location for the guidance of movement.We
suggest that a major emphasis of these areas is the construction
of a margin
of safety around the body and the selection and coordination of defensive
behavior. In this review, we summarize the physiological properties
of these brain areas and discuss a range of behavioral phenomena that
might be served by those neuronal properties, including the ducking
and
blocking reactions that follow startle, the flight zone of animals,
the personal space of humans, the nearby, multimodal attentional
space that has
been studied in humans, the withdrawal reaction to looming visual
stimuli, and the avoidance of obstacles during self-motion such as
locomotion
or reaching.
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