Abstract
Visual object recognition is of fundamental importance in our everyday interaction with the environment. Recent models of visual perception emphasize the role of top-down predictions facilitating object recognition via initial guesses that limit the number of object representations that need to be considered. Several results suggest that this rapid and efficient object processing relies on the early extraction and processing of low spatial frequencies (LSF). The present study aimed to investigate the SF content of visual object representations and its modulation by contextual and affective values of the perceived object during a picture-name verification task. Stimuli consisted of pictures of objects equalized in SF content and categorized as having low or high affective and contextual values. To access the SF content of stored visual representations of objects, SFs of each image were then randomly sampled on a trial-by-trial basis. Results reveal that intermediate SFs between 14 and 24 cycles per object (2.3–4 cycles per degree) are correlated with fast and accurate identification for all categories of objects. Moreover, there was a significant interaction between affective and contextual values over the SFs correlating with fast recognition. These results suggest that affective and contextual values of a visual object modulate the SF content of its internal representation, thus highlighting the flexibility of the visual recognition system.
Highlights
Rapid and accurate visual recognition of everyday objects encountered in different orientations, seen under various illumination conditions, and partially occluded by other objects in a visually cluttered environment is necessary for our survival
Harel and Bentin (2009) reported that subordinate-level categorization was impaired by the removal of high spatial frequencies (HSFs), and that basic-level categorization was impaired by removal of either HSFs or low spatial frequencies (LSF), suggesting that neither of these bands is especially useful for recognition at the basic level
Harel and Bentin (2009) reported that basic-level categorization was impaired by removal of either HSFs or LSFs, suggesting that neither of these bands is especially useful for recognition at the basic level
Summary
Rapid and accurate visual recognition of everyday objects encountered in different orientations, seen under various illumination conditions, and partially occluded by other objects in a visually cluttered environment is necessary for our survival. Most top-down models of object recognition (e.g., Grossberg, 1980; Ullman, 1995; Friston, 2003) propose that the search for correspondence between the input pattern and the stored representations is a bidirectional process where the input activates bottom-up as well as top-down streams that simultaneously explore many alternatives; object recognition is achieved when the counter streams meet and a match is found. The content of these stored representations could depend on several factors such as task requirements (e.g., perception or action, basic-level vs superordinate-level categorization) or categorical properties of the object (e.g., animate vs inanimate, affective vs nonaffective, social vs non-social; Logothetis and Sheinberg, 1996). It remains to be understood if different representational systems are used during recognition of different categories of visual objects
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