Neuroimaging Studies Give New Insight to Mental Rotation

This paper summarizes the recent findings of mental rotation studies which use neuroimaging techniques. Though many results differed, almost all the reviewed studies concurred that the superior parietal lobe plays a major role in the process of mental rotation. The possible confounds (including gender differences, analysis methods, experimental paradigms and controls, etc) for the different results are discussed. Varied results included lateralization effects, motor component involvement, as well as the activation of V5/human MT which implies that imagined motion may have occurred. Neuroimaging can be a powerful tool for understanding cognitive abilities and limitations. Neuroimaging aides researchers to gain insight into how mechanisms in the human brain function. In combination with other technologies, e.g. eye tracking, this will greatly enhance our ability to comprehend human cognition. This approach to analyzing can provide an important objective measure which could play a significant role in the design of computer systems.