Abstract
Spatial processing by receptive fields is a core property of the visual system. However, it is unknown how spatial processing in high-level regions contributes to recognition behavior. As face inversion is thought to disrupt typical holistic processing of information in faces, we mapped population receptive fields (pRFs) with upright and inverted faces in the human visual system. Here we show that in face-selective regions, but not primary visual cortex, pRFs and overall visual field coverage are smaller and shifted downward in response to face inversion. From these measurements, we successfully predict the relative behavioral detriment of face inversion at different positions in the visual field. This correspondence between neural measurements and behavior demonstrates how spatial processing in face-selective regions may enable holistic perception. These results not only show that spatial processing in high-level visual regions is dynamically used towards recognition, but also suggest a powerful approach for bridging neural computations by receptive fields to behavior.
Highlights
Spatial processing by receptive fields is a core property of the visual system
Since face recognition is thought to be instantiated by the aggregate population of neurons spanning a region[27,28,29], this leads to the prediction that face inversion, which is thought to hinder typical spatial processing of faces[23,26,30,31], may alter population receptive fields (pRFs) estimates and visual field coverage in face-selective regions, but not in early visual regions where spatial processing is not sensitive to face content
We infer that any observed differences in pRFs measured in response to upright and inverted faces are stimulus driven by the face inversion, rather than by task performance or attention
Summary
Spatial processing by receptive fields is a core property of the visual system. it is unknown how spatial processing in high-level regions contributes to recognition behavior. Modern research suggests that neural responses in VTC are sensitive to both stimulus size and position[9,10,11,12,13,14], providing a key empirical challenge to classical theories It remains unknown if and how spatial processing in high-level visual regions is used toward recognition behavior. Our group and others have used pRF modeling to quantify spatial processing in face-selective regions, finding that pRFs in ventral face-selective regions are progressively larger than in earlier visual areas and are densely centered around the center of gaze (the fovea), resulting in foveally biased coverage of the visual field[16,17,18] These response properties may enable neural populations in face-selective regions to integrate information across facial features for effective face recognition. Since face recognition is thought to be instantiated by the aggregate population of neurons spanning a region[27,28,29], this leads to the prediction that face inversion, which is thought to hinder typical spatial processing of faces[23,26,30,31], may alter pRF estimates and visual field coverage in face-selective regions, but not in early visual regions where spatial processing is not sensitive to face content
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