We investigated which correlates of figure-ground-segregation can be detect
ed by means of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Five subjects
were scanned with a Siemens Vision 1.5 T system. Motion, colour, and lumina
nce-defined checkerboards were presented with alternating control condition
s containing one of the two features of the checkerboard. We find a segrega
tion-specific activation in V1 for all subjects and all stimuli and conclud
e that neural mechanisms exist as early as in the primary visual cortex tha
t are sensitive to figure-ground segregation. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd
. All rights reserved.