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Neural processing of imminent collision in humans
Open accessAbstract
Detecting a looming object and its imminent collision is imperative to survival. For most humans, it is a fundamental aspect of daily activities such as driving, road crossing and participating in sport, yet little is known about how the brain both detects and responds to such stimuli. Here we use functional magnetic resonance imaging to assess neural response to looming stimuli in comparison with receding stimuli and motion-controlled static stimuli. We demonstrate for the first time that, in the human, the superior colliculus and the pulvinar nucleus of the thalamus respond to looming in addition to cortical regions associated with motor preparation. We also implicate the anterior insula in making timing computations for collision events.
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“In line with these findings, preferential activation in response to looming stimuli has been observed in the pulvinar, and putatively located in the medial pulvinar (Billington et al. 2011; Huang et al. 2018).”
From Neuroanatomical correlates of peripersonal space: bridging the gap between perception, action, emotion and social cognition (2024) · cites this paper as Billington et al. 2011
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“In line with this role, SC also has been shown to respond to looming visual stimuli, which have to be recognized as immediately salient for the individual (Billington et al. 2011; Vieira et al. 2020).”
From Neuroanatomical correlates of peripersonal space: bridging the gap between perception, action, emotion and social cognition (2024) · cites this paper as Billington et al. 2011
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Citations
Cites
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BackgroundFrom affective blindsight to emotional consciousness
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“In an fMRI study in humans, whereas timing computations for collision events were functions of the anterior insula, the detection of the looming stimulus (opposed to a receding stimulus) was associated with activation of both superior colliculi.(86) It is possible that the association of peripheral trauma with later d…”
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“…LP cells are sensitive to simple or complex motion or respond to specific shapes (Godfraind et al. 1969; Benevento & Miller, 1981; Petersen et al. 1985; Chalupa & Abramson, 1989; Casanova & Molotchnikoff, 1990; Merabet et al. 1998; Boire et al. 2004; Billington et al. 2011; Van Le et al. 2013).”
BackgroundThe role of the human anterior insular cortex in time processing
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“, 2012), both of which respond to looming stimuli and are 146 involved in time-to-collision judgements (Billington et al., 2011).”
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“This may account for the weak activation in VIP and absent activation in the anterior insula (Billington et al., 2011).”
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“Aligning with findings in non-human species [79–82], functional magnetic resonance imaging in humans has implicated structures such as the superior colliculus and the medial pulvinar nucleus of the thalamus in processing of visual looming [60].”
MethodResultSelf-citationDisrupted superior collicular activity may reveal cervical dystonia disease pathomechanisms
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“These findings were recently confirmed in humans using fMRI (Billington et al., 2011).”
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“Billington et al. (2011) compared brain activation in response to a moving ball made of point lights under conditions of looming, receding and randommotion.”
BackgroundLooming motion primes the visuomotor system.
Skarratt, P. A., Gellatly, A. R. H., Cole, G. G., Pilling, M., & Hulleman, J. (2013) · Journal of Experimental Psychology Human Perception & Performance · doi:10.1037/a0034456 · Cited by 27
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“However, it is important to note that fMRI studies have also reported a rightlateralized/preponderant prefrontal-parietal network for perceptual prediction in time-to-contact (Billington et al., 2011) and spatiotemporal trajectory tasks (O’Reilly et al.”
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“Approaching stimuli elicit different brain activity patterns than those that are static or receding (Bach et al., 2009; Billington et al., 2011; Coker-Appia et al., 2013; Mobbs et al. 2010; Van Wassenhove et al., 2011).”
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Self-citationTime‐to‐contact perception in the brain
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Spatiotemporal integration of looming visual and tactile stimuli near the face
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“While the responses in AIC were not as strong as those in other unisensory and multisensory sROIs, it could be involved in making judgments about the timing (duration) of looming objects (approaching threats) and in detecting the temporal synchrony or asynchrony of multisensory stimuli (Billington et al., 2011; Bushar…”
BackgroundMethodResultInfluentialVisual looming is a primitive for human emotion
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“32 Indeed,thehumansuperiorcolliculus responds to looming visual stimuli, 33 even in the absence of awareness.”
Young Women do it Better: Sexual Dimorphism in Temporal Discrimination
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“This finding contrasts with previous research in which an activation of motor related areas was observed for looming sounds [3, 42].”
ResultAllocentric time-to-contact and the devastating effect of perspective
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Human subcortical pathways automatically detect collision trajectory without attention and awareness
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“The SC receives the projection from direction-selective retinal ganglion cells [18], [20], [25], and has projections to the pulvinar which has been evidenced in primate brains [18], [20], [25], and rodent brains [21], [28]–[30].”
BackgroundEnhanced early ERP responses to looming angry faces
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“Billington et al. (2011) has shown that the superior colliculus is specifically activated when subjects perceive an approaching (looming) object. The superior colliculus is known to be involved in eye movements, in particular in vergence movements (Guitton, 1999; Chaturvedi and Van Gisbergen, 2000). Hypothetically, th…”
BackgroundInfluentialModeling spatial navigation in the presence of dynamic obstacles: a differential games approach
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“…the dorsal stream, may be involved in the recognition of the obstacle, as well as processing its characteristics, such as shape and motion (see Andersen 1997), while looming stimuli may be detected by the superior colliculus and the medial pulvinar nucleus of the thalamus (Billington et al. 2011).”
BackgroundVisual objects approaching the body modulate subsequent somatosensory processing at 4 months of age
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Forward optic flow is prioritised in visual awareness independently of walking direction
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BackgroundEvolutionary perspective on peripersonal space and perception
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Self-citationTennis experience impacts time estimation within different timing processes: An ERP study
Tang, H., Zhao, Z., Lin, L., Chen, S., Han, H., & Jin, X. (2024) · Neuropsychologia · doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2024.109059 · Cited by 4
Barr, J., Vangel, R., Kanel, P., Roytman, S., Pongmala, C., Albin, R. L., Scott, P. J. H., & Bohnen, N. I. (2024) · Journal of Integrative Neuroscience · doi:10.31083/j.jin2309178 · Cited by 4
“Researches have demonstrated that in many animals it enables looming-collision detection behavior [56,57].”
BackgroundHand movements influence the perception of time in a prediction motion task
Li, X., Baurès, R., & Crémoux, S. (2023) · Attention Perception & Psychophysics · doi:10.3758/s13414-023-02690-9 · Cited by 4
“, 2013; Tomassini & D’Ausilio, 2018), including the TTC perception task (Assmus et al., 2003; Baurès et al., 2021; Billington et al., 2011; Coull et al., 2008; Field & Wann, 2005).”
BackgroundNakagawa, H., & Nishida, Y. (2012) · Biology Open · doi:10.1242/bio.20121693 · Cited by 3
“In the human brain, a non-invasive fMRI study revealed the neuronal correlate of motor planning in response to an approaching danger (Billington et al., 2011; Coull et al., 2008).”
BackgroundCalabro, F. J., Beardsley, S. A., & Vaina, L. M. (2019) · Experimental Brain Research · doi:10.1007/s00221-019-05613-z · Cited by 3
Sato, K., Fukuhara, K., & Higuchi, T. (2023) · Experimental Aging Research · doi:10.1080/0361073x.2023.2278985 · Cited by 2
“…an approaching object, including eye-height information, is particularly important in the perception of TTC. Brain regions involved in responding to object approach and estimating TTC include the superior colliculus and the pulvinar nucleus of the thalamus (Billington, Wilkie, Field, & Wann, 2011).”
Should I stay or should I go? The cerebral bases of street‐crossing decision
Baurès, R., Leblond, S., Dewailly, A., Cherubini, M., Subramanian, L. D., Kearney, J. K., Durand, J., & Roux, F. (2023) · Journal of Neuroscience Research · doi:10.1002/jnr.25279 · Cited by 2
“…the lateralization of the process appears debated in the literature, which has either suggested a bilateral implication of the parietal area (Billington et al., 2011 ), a left implication (Assmus et al., 2003; Coull et al., 2008 ; Field & Wann, 2005 ) or a right implication (Baurès et al.,…”
BackgroundResultInfluentialYamasaki, D., & Nagai, M. (2024) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1414702 · Cited by 2
“…2005) Looming, the specific visual pattern of expansion, results in increased neural activation in the visuomotor cortex (Peron and Gabbiani, 2009; Billington et al., 2011), and superior temporal sulcus (Tyll et al., 2013), seemingly leading to faster detection and motor responses to looming…”
BackgroundBillington, J., Furlan, M., & Wann, J. P. (2012) · Displays · doi:10.1016/j.displa.2012.10.008 · Cited by 2
“the use of dichopic displays in an MRI scanner environment to revisit the behavioural research on cue integration [5] and neural research on looming detection [11].”
BackgroundResultInfluentialSelf-citationEffect of Acute Psychological Stress on Motion-in-Depth Perception: An Event-Related Potential Study
Wang, J., Yu, L., He, M., & Qi, C. (2020) · Advances in Cognitive Psychology · doi:10.5709/acp-0309-6 · Cited by 3
Subjective time dilation as a result of entropy
Zhang, D., Wang, Y., & Bao, Y. (2023) · PsyCh Journal · doi:10.1002/pchj.695 · Cited by 2
Yu, Z., Moses, E., Kritikos, A., & Pegna, A. J. (2024) · Brain Sciences · doi:10.3390/brainsci14010098 · Cited by 1
“Interestingly, other studies have shown that when contrasted with receding stimuli, looming stimuli activate the superior colliculus and the pulvinar nucleus of the thalamus [62], as in the case of emotion and threat.”
BackgroundWei, X., Wang, C., Song, Y., & Qi, C. (2025) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-024-83707-7 · Cited by 1
“Referring to previous studies on collision time estimation 28,29 and the characteristics of individual visual processing 30 , this study establishes two collision time estimation conditions at 400ms and 800ms.”
A molecularly defined brain circuit module for regulating panic-like defensive state
Zhao, M., Zhang, L., Chen, Z., Zhang, S., Cheng, X., Huang, M., Li, X., Gu, H., Guan, X., Geng, D., et al. (2025) · Nature Communications · doi:10.1038/s41467-025-60529-3 · Cited by 2
Coizet, V., Tannir, R. A., Pautrat, A., & Overton, P. G. (2023) · Current Neuropharmacology · doi:10.2174/1570159x21666230818154903 · Cited by 2
“…reported following collicular stimulation in other species, the colliculus in a wide range of species contains neurons sensitive to looming stimuli (pigeon optic tectum, [42], frog optic tectum, [43], mouse, [44], cat, [45], humans, [46]), which indirectly suggests a role in avoidance/escape.”
BackgroundPerceptual errors in predicting vehicle approach in typical and atypical populations
Purcell, C. (2012) · Royal Holloway Digital Repository (Royal Holloway University of London) · Cited by 1
Animacy and the prediction of behaviourPreprint
Schultz, J., & Frith, C. (2020) · PsyArXiv (OSF Preprints) · doi:10.31234/osf.io/2k4mj · Cited by 2
“Neurons sensitive to looming are found in several animal species (Merchant and Georgopoulos, 2006) and, in primates, both subcortical and cortical sites respond to looming (Field and Wann, 2005; Maier et al., 2008; Billington et al., 2011).”
BackgroundContribution of linear and nonlinear mechanisms to predictive motion estimationPreprint
Liu, B., Hong, A. S., Rieke, F. M., & Manookin, M. B. (2021) · bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · doi:10.1101/2021.11.09.467979 · Cited by 1
Preference for motion and depth in 3D film
Hartle, B., Lugtigheid, A. J., Kazimi, A., Allison, R. S., & Wilcox, L. M. (2015) · Proceedings of SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering/Proceedings of SPIE · doi:10.1117/12.2079330
High-density EEG study of how looming information is processed in the infant brain
Taer, N. R. M. (2015) · BIBSYS Brage (BIBSYS (Norway))
Final Synthesis and Conclusions
Riskind, J. H., & Rector, N. A. (2018) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-1-4939-8782-5_17
Functional Neuroanatomy of Time-To-Passage Perception
Geng, Y., Şıkoğlu, E. M., Hecht, H., & Vaina, L. M. (2018) · Journal of Behavioral and Brain Science · doi:10.4236/jbbs.2018.811039
“Consistent with previous research, we also found activation in bilateral superior colliculus (SC), which is an area involved in motor preparation and attention [6].”
BackgroundResultInfluentialCollicular Anatomy and Function
Gharaei, S., Stuart, G. J., & Arabzadeh, E. (2020) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-809324-5.24253-3
Caiwen, L. I., Zang, F., Xuan, Y., & Fu, X. (2020) · Advances in Psychological Science · doi:10.3724/sp.j.1042.2020.01650
Metadata
- Authors
- Billington, J., Wilkie, R. M., Field, D. T., & Wann, J. P.
- Affiliations
- Royal Holloway University of London (GB)
- University of Leeds (GB)
- University of Reading (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Wann, John P.
- Venue
- Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
- Publisher
- The Royal Society
- Published
- 2010-10-27
- Volume
- 278
- Issue
- 1711
- Pages
- 1476-1481
- ISSN
- 0080-4649 (ISSN-L)
- 0962-8452
- 1471-2954
- PMC
- PMC3081747
- OpenAlex
- W2095956597
- Cited by
- 111
- References
- 29
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 11 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 8 · 2021: 8 · 2020: 9 · 2019: 7 · 2018: 8 · 2017: 6 · 2016: 5 · 2015: 7 · 2014: 4 · 2013: 6 · 2012: 6
- FWCI
- 3.30
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- CentAUR (University of Reading) (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EP/D055342/1)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Visual perception and processing mechanisms
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Multisensory perception and integration
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
- Keywords
- looming stimuli, collision detection, superior colliculus, pulvinar, thalamus, anterior insula, motor preparation, collision timing, threat detection, visual motion perception
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Brain Mapping, Cerebral Cortex, Female, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Motion Perception, Photic Stimulation, Reaction Time, Superior Colliculi, Pulvinar
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