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Contrast versus identity encoding in the face image follow distinct orientation selectivity profiles
Christianne Jacobs1, Kirsten Petras1,2, Pieter Moors1,3
1Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Research Institute for Psychological Science (IPSY), UC Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium.
Plos One
|March 19, 2020
Summary
Visual processing shows distinct orientation tuning at primary and high-level stages. Face identification relies on horizontal information, differing from basic visual encoding, indicating a transformation in orientation selectivity.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Visual Perception
- Cognitive Science
Background:
- Orientation selectivity is crucial for primary visual encoding.
- High-level visual processing, like face identification, shows orientation dependence, favoring horizontal information.
- The emergence of high-level orientation tuning from primary biases is not well understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate orientation selectivity at both primary and high-level visual processing stages.
- To determine how orientation tuning transforms from basic visual features to complex object recognition (face identity).
Main Methods:
- Assessed orientation selectivity using contrast detection and face identity matching tasks.
- Measured performance across four orientations (0, 45, 90, 135°) for upright and inverted faces.
- Employed Bayesian analyses to correlate orientation selectivity profiles between tasks.
Main Results:
- Primary visual processing showed higher sensitivity to oblique orientations.
- Face identification exhibited enhanced sensitivity to horizontal orientations.
- Orientation selectivity profiles for contrast detection correlated between upright and inverted faces, but not for face identification.
Conclusions:
- Orientation selectivity profiles differ significantly between primary and high-level visual processing stages.
- A transformation occurs from general orientation sensitivity in basic visual processing to specific horizontal tuning for face identity.
- These findings highlight a dissociation in orientation encoding as visual information progresses to higher cognitive functions.
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