Abstract
Figure-ground organization in the visual cortex is generally assumed to be based partly on general rules and partly on specific influences of object recognition in higher centers as found in the temporal lobe. To see if shape familiarity influences figure-ground organization, we tested border ownership-selective neurons in monkey V1/V2 with silhouettes of human and monkey face profiles and “nonsense” silhouettes constructed by mirror-reversing the front part of the profile. We found no superiority of face silhouettes compared with nonsense shapes in eliciting border-ownership signals overall. However, in some neurons, border-ownership signals differed strongly between the two categories consistently across many different profile shapes. Surprisingly, this category selectivity appeared as early as 70 ms after stimulus onset, which is earlier than the typical latency of shape-selective responses but compatible with the earliest face-selective responses in the inferior temporal lobe. Although our results provide no evidence for a delayed top-down influence from object recognition centers, they indicate sophisticated shape categorization mechanisms that are much faster than generally assumed. NEW & NOTEWORTHY A long-standing question is whether low-level sensory representations in cortex are influenced by cognitive “top-down” signals. We studied figure-ground organization in the visual cortex by comparing border-ownership signals for face profiles and matched nonsense shapes. We found no sign of “face superiority” in the population border-ownership signal. However, some neurons consistently differentiated between the face and nonsense categories early on, indicating the presence of shape classification mechanisms that are much faster than previously assumed.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 160-176 |
| Number of pages | 17 |
| Journal | Journal of Neurophysiology |
| Volume | 119 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jan 1 2018 |
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Keywords
- Border ownership
- Cognitive feedback
- Face selectivity
- Macaque monkey
- Neuronal responses
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Neuroscience(all)
- Physiology
Cite this
Figure-ground organization in the visual cortex : Does meaning matter? / Ko, Hee Kyoung; Von Der Heydt, Joachim R.
In: Journal of Neurophysiology, Vol. 119, No. 1, 01.01.2018, p. 160-176.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Figure-ground organization in the visual cortex
T2 - Does meaning matter?
AU - Ko, Hee Kyoung
AU - Von Der Heydt, Joachim R
PY - 2018/1/1
Y1 - 2018/1/1
N2 - Figure-ground organization in the visual cortex is generally assumed to be based partly on general rules and partly on specific influences of object recognition in higher centers as found in the temporal lobe. To see if shape familiarity influences figure-ground organization, we tested border ownership-selective neurons in monkey V1/V2 with silhouettes of human and monkey face profiles and “nonsense” silhouettes constructed by mirror-reversing the front part of the profile. We found no superiority of face silhouettes compared with nonsense shapes in eliciting border-ownership signals overall. However, in some neurons, border-ownership signals differed strongly between the two categories consistently across many different profile shapes. Surprisingly, this category selectivity appeared as early as 70 ms after stimulus onset, which is earlier than the typical latency of shape-selective responses but compatible with the earliest face-selective responses in the inferior temporal lobe. Although our results provide no evidence for a delayed top-down influence from object recognition centers, they indicate sophisticated shape categorization mechanisms that are much faster than generally assumed. NEW & NOTEWORTHY A long-standing question is whether low-level sensory representations in cortex are influenced by cognitive “top-down” signals. We studied figure-ground organization in the visual cortex by comparing border-ownership signals for face profiles and matched nonsense shapes. We found no sign of “face superiority” in the population border-ownership signal. However, some neurons consistently differentiated between the face and nonsense categories early on, indicating the presence of shape classification mechanisms that are much faster than previously assumed.
AB - Figure-ground organization in the visual cortex is generally assumed to be based partly on general rules and partly on specific influences of object recognition in higher centers as found in the temporal lobe. To see if shape familiarity influences figure-ground organization, we tested border ownership-selective neurons in monkey V1/V2 with silhouettes of human and monkey face profiles and “nonsense” silhouettes constructed by mirror-reversing the front part of the profile. We found no superiority of face silhouettes compared with nonsense shapes in eliciting border-ownership signals overall. However, in some neurons, border-ownership signals differed strongly between the two categories consistently across many different profile shapes. Surprisingly, this category selectivity appeared as early as 70 ms after stimulus onset, which is earlier than the typical latency of shape-selective responses but compatible with the earliest face-selective responses in the inferior temporal lobe. Although our results provide no evidence for a delayed top-down influence from object recognition centers, they indicate sophisticated shape categorization mechanisms that are much faster than generally assumed. NEW & NOTEWORTHY A long-standing question is whether low-level sensory representations in cortex are influenced by cognitive “top-down” signals. We studied figure-ground organization in the visual cortex by comparing border-ownership signals for face profiles and matched nonsense shapes. We found no sign of “face superiority” in the population border-ownership signal. However, some neurons consistently differentiated between the face and nonsense categories early on, indicating the presence of shape classification mechanisms that are much faster than previously assumed.
KW - Border ownership
KW - Cognitive feedback
KW - Face selectivity
KW - Macaque monkey
KW - Neuronal responses
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85043481738&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85043481738&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1152/jn.00131.2017
DO - 10.1152/jn.00131.2017
M3 - Article
C2 - 28978761
AN - SCOPUS:85043481738
VL - 119
SP - 160
EP - 176
JO - Journal of Neurophysiology
JF - Journal of Neurophysiology
SN - 0022-3077
IS - 1
ER -