This study investigates the distributed representation of objects in the human ventral visual pathway using functional MRI. The researchers found three distinct regions in the ventral temporal cortex that responded preferentially to faces and two categories of other objects: houses and chairs. These regions showed a highly consistent topological arrangement. Although the data could be interpreted as evidence for separate modules, the study found that each category also evoked significant responses in regions that responded maximally to other stimuli. Each category was associated with its own differential pattern of response across ventral temporal cortex. These results indicate that the representation of an object is not restricted to a region that responds maximally to that object, but rather is distributed across a broader expanse of cortex. The study proposes that the functional architecture of the ventral visual pathway is not a mosaic of category-specific modules but instead is a continuous representation of information about object form that has a highly consistent and orderly topological arrangement. The study also found that the response to different categories of objects was distributed across a broad expanse of ventral temporal cortex, suggesting that the representation of objects in this cortex may be feature-based rather than object-based. The researchers investigated the patterns of response evoked in ventral temporal cortex by faces, houses, and chairs. They found that each category of object was associated with a highly consistent pattern of response across the expanse of ventral temporal cortex. The results suggest that the functional architecture of the ventral temporal cortex is based on a continuous representation of object features, such that features shared by members of a category tend to cluster together. The study also found that the response to faces was more restricted to the lateral fusiform and inferior temporal regions, whereas the responses to houses and chairs were more widely distributed across all three regions. The results suggest that the distributed nature of the response to different categories is illustrated for a single subject. The study also found that the response to faces was more automatic than to houses and chairs, suggesting that face perception is more automatic. The study concludes that the topological organization for information about object form in posterior ventral temporal cortex may be analogous to the well-known topologies in sensory cortices. The study suggests that the representation of objects in the ventral visual pathway is a continuous representation of information about object form that has a highly consistent and orderly topological arrangement.This study investigates the distributed representation of objects in the human ventral visual pathway using functional MRI. The researchers found three distinct regions in the ventral temporal cortex that responded preferentially to faces and two categories of other objects: houses and chairs. These regions showed a highly consistent topological arrangement. Although the data could be interpreted as evidence for separate modules, the study found that each category also evoked significant responses in regions that responded maximally to other stimuli. Each category was associated with its own differential pattern of response across ventral temporal cortex. These results indicate that the representation of an object is not restricted to a region that responds maximally to that object, but rather is distributed across a broader expanse of cortex. The study proposes that the functional architecture of the ventral visual pathway is not a mosaic of category-specific modules but instead is a continuous representation of information about object form that has a highly consistent and orderly topological arrangement. The study also found that the response to different categories of objects was distributed across a broad expanse of ventral temporal cortex, suggesting that the representation of objects in this cortex may be feature-based rather than object-based. The researchers investigated the patterns of response evoked in ventral temporal cortex by faces, houses, and chairs. They found that each category of object was associated with a highly consistent pattern of response across the expanse of ventral temporal cortex. The results suggest that the functional architecture of the ventral temporal cortex is based on a continuous representation of object features, such that features shared by members of a category tend to cluster together. The study also found that the response to faces was more restricted to the lateral fusiform and inferior temporal regions, whereas the responses to houses and chairs were more widely distributed across all three regions. The results suggest that the distributed nature of the response to different categories is illustrated for a single subject. The study also found that the response to faces was more automatic than to houses and chairs, suggesting that face perception is more automatic. The study concludes that the topological organization for information about object form in posterior ventral temporal cortex may be analogous to the well-known topologies in sensory cortices. The study suggests that the representation of objects in the ventral visual pathway is a continuous representation of information about object form that has a highly consistent and orderly topological arrangement.