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Investigating Object Representations in the Macaque Dorsal Visual Stream Using Single-unit Recordings
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The neural basis for shape preferences.

Ori Amir1, Irving Biederman, Kenneth J Hayworth

  • 1Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, SGM 501, 3620 South McClintock Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90089-1061, USA. oamir@usc.edu

Vision Research
|September 13, 2011
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Infants and adults visually prefer non-singular (NS) shapes over singular (S) shapes. This preference is linked to greater neural activity in the brain

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Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Neuroscience
  • Visual Perception
  • Developmental Psychology

Background:

  • Shape perception involves distinguishing between simple (singular, S) and complex (non-singular, NS) features.
  • Previous research suggests neural activity correlates with visual preference in complex scenes.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate whether infants and adults show a preference for non-singular (NS) over singular (S) shapes.
  • To explore the neural correlates of this preference using fMRI.

Main Methods:

  • Participants (infants and adults) viewed pairs of geons differing in shape dimensions (S vs. NS).
  • Eye-tracking was used to record visual attention.
  • Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) measured brain activity in shape-selective cortex (LOC).

Main Results:

  • Both infants and adults initially looked at NS geons.
  • Adults spent more time looking at NS geons compared to S geons.
  • NS geons elicited greater activation in the lateral occipital complex (LOC) compared to S geons.

Conclusions:

  • Non-singular (NS) shapes elicit greater visual attention and neural activity than singular (S) shapes in both infants and adults.
  • This finding suggests a neural basis for visual preference related to shape complexity.
  • The preference for NS stimuli may drive attentional biases and information seeking.