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| Research article summary (published 29 Apr 2002): |
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Dynamics of visual feature analysis and object-level processing in face versus letter-string perception.
Full Abstract
Neurones in the human inferior occipitotemporal cortex respond to specific categories of images, such as numbers, letters and faces, within 150-200 ms. Here we identify the locus in time when stimulus-specific analysis emerges by comparing the dynamics of face and letter-string perception in the same 10 individuals. An ideal paradigm was provided by our previous study on letter-strings, in which noise-masking of stimuli revealed putative visual feature processing at 100 ms around the occipital midline followed by letter-string-specific activation at 150 ms in the left inferior occipitotemporal cortex. In the present study, noise-masking of cartoon-like faces revealed that the response at 100 ms increased linearly with the visual complexity of the images, a result that was similar for faces and letter-strings. By 150 ms, faces and letter-strings had entered their own stimulus-specific processing routes in the inferior occipitotemporal cortex, with identical timing and large spatial overlap. However, letter-string analysis lateralized to the left hemisphere, whereas face processing occurred more bilaterally or with right-hemisphere preponderance. The inferior occipitotemporal activations at approximately 150 ms, which take place after the visual feature analysis at approximately 100 ms, are likely to represent a general object-level analysis stage that acts as a rapid gateway to higher cognitive processing.
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Author information
Author/s: Tarkiainen, A (A); Cornelissen, P L (PL); Salmelin, R (R);
Affiliation: Brain Research Unit, Low Temperature Laboratory, Helsinki University of Technology, Finland. antti.tarkiainen(-atsign-)hut.fi
Journal and publication information
Publication Type: Comparative Study; Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Journal: Brain : a journal of neurology (Brain), published in England. (Language: eng)
Reference: 2002-May; vol 125 (issue Pt 5) : pp 1125-36
Dates: Created 2002/04/18; Completed 2002/06/17; Revised 2006/11/15;
PMID: 11960901, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 11/6/2008)
Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.
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