Seeing Faces and Objects with the “Mind’s Eye”

Abstract

With the advent of functional brain imaging techniques and recent developments in the analysis of cortical connectivity, the focus of mental imagery studies has shifted from a semi-modular approach to a more realistic, integrated, cortical networks perspective. Recent studies of visual imagery of faces and objects suggest that activation of content-specific representations stored in the visual ventral stream is top-down mediated by parietal and frontal regions. The relation of these findings to other cognitive functions is discussed, as well as their clinical implications for patients with impaired states of conscious awareness.