Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 14, 2026

Perceptual and Category Processing of the Uncanny Valley Hypothesis' Dimension of Human Likeness: Some Methodological Issues
Published on: June 3, 2013
Brain areas engaged during visual judgments by involuntary access to novel semantic information
Thomas W James1, Isabel Gauthier
1Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, 111 21st Ave. S., Nashville, TN 37203, USA. thomas.james@vanderbilt.edu
Abstract:
Theories of visual recognition place different emphasis on the role of non-stimulus factors. Previously, we showed that arbitrary semantic associations influenced visual recognition of novel objects. Here, the neural substrate of this effect was investigated. During a visual task, novel objects associated with arbitrary semantic features produced more activation in frontal and parietal cortex than objects associated with names. Because the task required no semantic retrieval, access to semantics appears to be involuntary. The brain regions involved have been implicated in semantic processing, thus recently acquired semantics activate a similar network to semantics learned over a lifetime.
Related Concept Videos
Vision
Motor and Sensory Areas of the Cortex
Motor Areas
The motor areas located in the frontal lobe are central to controlling voluntary movements. This region is further subdivided into the primary motor cortex and the premotor cortex.
Association Areas of the Cortex
Prefrontal Association Area: This area is located in the frontal lobe and is involved in planning, decision-making, and moderating social behavior. It connects with primary motor areas,...
Visual System
Once through the pupil, the light passes through the lens, a...
Parallel Processing
Visual Agnosia

