Classic visual aftereffects have provided a powerful tool for psychophysically characterizing the receptive field properties of neural units involved in coding local image features, providing a link between physiologically specified receptive fields of cells in V 1 and perception. However, the application of aftereffects has been limited primarily to studying low-level coding of local features because the aftereffects bore signatures of early processing (e.g., retinotopy, narrow tunings for orientation and spatial frequency). Recently, Suzuki and colleagues and others have reported that under specific temporal conditions (brief adaptation probed with a brief test pattern following a brief adapt-to-test interval), aftereffects can be induced for global shape attributes such as aspect ratio, skew, taper, curvature, and convexity. These brief shape aftereffects bear signatures of high-level coding (e.g., tolerance for position, scale, and/or defining surface features). Brief shape aftereffects are thus promising as a tool for characterizing a processing stage in which global configurations of oriented contours are systematically coded. Detailed characterization of this """"""""mid-level"""""""" visual coding will expand understanding of how visual pattern processing evolves from the coding of local image features to the coding of various intermediate geometric features, and eventually to the coding of representations of meaningful objects. The oal of this proposal is three-fold.
In Aim 1, the temporal requirements for producing global shape aftereffects (as opposed to local image aftereffects) will be carefully specified to refine brief shape aftereffects as a tool for probing global shape coding.
In Aim 2, brief shape aftereffects will be used to psychophysically characterize the receptive field properties and the nature of population coding operating at the stage of coding global shape attributes. In a real-world environment where objects routinely overlap, position-tolerant coding of global shape attributes cannot be considered without reference to an attentional selection mechanism. Consistent with this idea, brief shape aftereffects have been shown to be sensitive to attention. Thus, in Aim 3, the experiments are designed to investigate how observers' attention and image parameters interact to select individual shapes for global shape coding. Thus, the proposed three-fold investigation will provide a thorough psychophysical characterization of the receptive field and coding properties of the mid- to high-level shape representation whose activation depends on both the physical properties of the stimuli and attention. The results will begin to provide a link between the physiologically specified receptive fields in the higher cortical visual areas (e.g., in the ventral """"""""pattern processing stream"""""""" such as V4 and IT) and perception of global shape attributes.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Eye Institute (NEI)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
1R01EY014110-01A2
Application #
6681200
Study Section
Visual Sciences B Study Section (VISB)
Program Officer
Oberdorfer, Michael
Project Start
2003-08-01
Project End
2006-07-31
Budget Start
2003-08-01
Budget End
2004-07-31
Support Year
1
Fiscal Year
2003
Total Cost
$222,813
Indirect Cost
Name
Northwestern University at Chicago
Department
Psychology
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
160079455
City
Evanston
State
IL
Country
United States
Zip Code
60201
Kim, Yee-Joon; Grabowecky, Marcia; Paller, Ken A et al. (2011) Differential roles of frequency-following and frequency-doubling visual responses revealed by evoked neural harmonics. J Cogn Neurosci 23:1875-86
Zinbarg, Richard E; Suzuki, Satoru; Uliaszek, Amanda A et al. (2010) Biased parameter estimates and inflated Type I error rates in analysis of covariance (and analysis of partial variance) arising from unreliability: alternatives and remedial strategies. J Abnorm Psychol 119:307-19
Iordanescu, Lucica; Guzman-Martinez, Emmanuel; Grabowecky, Marcia et al. (2008) Characteristic sounds facilitate visual search. Psychon Bull Rev 15:548-54
Smith, Eric L; Grabowecky, Marcia; Suzuki, Satoru (2008) Self-awareness affects vision. Curr Biol 18:R414-5
Smith, Eric L; Grabowecky, Marcia; Suzuki, Satoru (2007) Auditory-visual crossmodal integration in perception of face gender. Curr Biol 17:1680-5
Suzuki, Satoru; Grabowecky, Marcia (2007) Long-term speeding in perceptual switches mediated by attention-dependent plasticity in cortical visual processing. Neuron 56:741-53
Kim, Yee Joon; Grabowecky, Marcia; Paller, Ken A et al. (2007) Attention induces synchronization-based response gain in steady-state visual evoked potentials. Nat Neurosci 10:117-25
Behrmann, Marlene; Peterson, Mary A; Moscovitch, Morris et al. (2006) Independent representation of parts and the relations between them: evidence from integrative agnosia. J Exp Psychol Hum Percept Perform 32:1169-84
Kim, Yee-Joon; Grabowecky, Marcia; Suzuki, Satoru (2006) Stochastic resonance in binocular rivalry. Vision Res 46:392-406
Goolsby, Brian A; Grabowecky, Marcia; Suzuki, Satoru (2005) Adaptive modulation of color salience contingent upon global form coding and task relevance. Vision Res 45:901-30

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