<E-18> Imagined Transformations of Bodies: An fMRI<E-366> Investigation<E-185> Jeff Zacks

<E-203> Neuropsychological studies suggest a distinction between neural systems that<E-412> mediate two classes of spatial mental transformations: egocentric perspective<E-366> transformations (imagined changes of one's egocentric position and orientation)<E-381> and object-based spatial transformations (imagined rotation, translation, or<E-405> deformation of an external figure). These two processes are reflected in patterns<E-401> of neuropsychological deficits and are consistent with functional imaging<E-364> studies. Here, we present behavioral results and functional magnetic resonance<E-389> imaging (fMRI) data from 7 participants that together support this dissociation.<E-373> In a task contrast designed to isolate egocentric perspective transformations,<E-335> participants were slower to make left-right judgments about a figure from the<E-414> figure's perspective than from their own. This transformation led to increased<E-383> cortical activity around the left parietal-tempora..