Figure 1

(Top row) Statistical parametric maps of the group analysis of the neural activity of the expert subjects during tactile Mah-Jong discrimination. Task-related increases in the MR signal (yellow) were superimposed on three orthogonal sections of T1-weighted high-resolution MRIs unrelated to the subjects of the present study. The fMRI data were normalized to standard stereotaxic space. The blue lines indicate the projections of each section that cross at (x = -52 mm, y = -58 mm, z = -8 mm in MNI coordinates) where the activation was maximal in the LO when the experts were completing the task. (Top right) The group difference between the experts and the non-expert control group during Mah-Jong tactilediscrimination (orange) within the areas activated by expert group(yellow) are shown in the same format. The V1 of the expert groupshowed more prominent activation than that of the control group(orange). The blue lines indicate the projections of each section that cross at (-8, -80, 4) where the group difference was maximal. (Middle row) Task-related activation in the left LO (-52, -58, -8) (middle left), and V1 (-8, -80, 4) (middle right). The percent MR signal change during Mah-Jong discrimination by the non-expert control group (blue bar) and the experts (red bar) were plotted. The percent MR signal change during Braille discrimination by seven out of the eight experts (shaded bar) is also presented. * <0.05, ** <0.01, *** <0.001, one sample t-test. The group difference was also significant (*P = 0.02; ** P = 0.001; *** P = 0.003, Mann Whitney U-test). (Bottom row) The % MR signal change during Mah-Jong tactile discrimination by the expert (red square) and control groups (blue square) in the LO (left) and V1 (right). In V1 the task-related activity and task performance was positively correlated.