A comparison of visual responses to object- and ego-motion in the macaque superior temporal polysensory area.

The responses of visual movement-sensitive neurons in the anterior superior temporal polysensory area (STPa) of monkeys were studied during object-motion, ego-motion and during both together. The majority of the cells responded only to the image of a moving object against a stationary background and failed to respond to the retinal movement of the same object (against the same background) caused by the monkey's ego-motion. All the tested cells continued responding to the object-motion during ego-motion in the opposite direction. By contrast, most cells failed to respond to the motion of an object when the observer and object moved at the same speed and direction (eliminating observer-relative motion cues). The results indicate that STPa cells compute motion relative to the observer and suggest an influence of reference signals (vestibular, somatosensory or retinal) in the discrimination of ego- and object-motion. The results extend observations indicating that STPa cells are selective for visual motion originating from the movements of external objects and unresponsive to retinal changes correlated with the observer's own movements.