TY - JOUR
T1 - Temporal dynamics of shape processing differentiate contributions of dorsal and ventral visual pathways
AU - Collins, Elliot
AU - Freud, Erez
AU - Kainerstorfer, Jana M.
AU - Cao, Jiaming
AU - Behrmann, Marlene
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
PY - 2019/1/1
Y1 - 2019/1/1
N2 - Although shape perception is primarily considered a function of the ventral visual pathway, previous research has shown that both dorsal and ventral pathways represent shape information. Here, we examine whether the shape-selective electrophysiological signals observed in dorsal cortex are a product of the connectivity to ventral cortex or are independently computed. We conducted multiple EEG studies in which we manipulated the input parameters of the stimuli so as to bias processing to either the dorsal or ventral visual pathway. Participants viewed displays of common objects with shape information parametrically degraded across five levels. We measured shape sensitivity by regressing the amplitude of the evoked signal against the degree of stimulus scrambling. Experiment 1, which included grayscale versions of the stimuli, served as a benchmark establishing the temporal pattern of shape processing during typical object perception. These stimuli evoked broad and sustained patterns of shape sensitivity beginning as early as 50 msec after stimulus onset. In Experiments 2 and 3, we calibrated the stimuli such that visual information was delivered primarily through parvocellular inputs, which mainly project to the ventral pathway, or through koniocellular inputs, which mainly project to the dorsal pathway. In the second and third experiments, shape sensitivity was observed, but in distinct spatio-temporal configurations from each other and from that elicited by grayscale inputs. Of particular interest, in the koniocellular condition, shape selectivity emerged earlier than in the parvocellular condition. These findings support the conclusion of distinct dorsal pathway computations of object shape, independent from the ventral pathway.
AB - Although shape perception is primarily considered a function of the ventral visual pathway, previous research has shown that both dorsal and ventral pathways represent shape information. Here, we examine whether the shape-selective electrophysiological signals observed in dorsal cortex are a product of the connectivity to ventral cortex or are independently computed. We conducted multiple EEG studies in which we manipulated the input parameters of the stimuli so as to bias processing to either the dorsal or ventral visual pathway. Participants viewed displays of common objects with shape information parametrically degraded across five levels. We measured shape sensitivity by regressing the amplitude of the evoked signal against the degree of stimulus scrambling. Experiment 1, which included grayscale versions of the stimuli, served as a benchmark establishing the temporal pattern of shape processing during typical object perception. These stimuli evoked broad and sustained patterns of shape sensitivity beginning as early as 50 msec after stimulus onset. In Experiments 2 and 3, we calibrated the stimuli such that visual information was delivered primarily through parvocellular inputs, which mainly project to the ventral pathway, or through koniocellular inputs, which mainly project to the dorsal pathway. In the second and third experiments, shape sensitivity was observed, but in distinct spatio-temporal configurations from each other and from that elicited by grayscale inputs. Of particular interest, in the koniocellular condition, shape selectivity emerged earlier than in the parvocellular condition. These findings support the conclusion of distinct dorsal pathway computations of object shape, independent from the ventral pathway.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85065095270&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1162/jocn_a_01391
DO - 10.1162/jocn_a_01391
M3 - Article
C2 - 30883289
AN - SCOPUS:85065095270
SN - 0898-929X
VL - 31
SP - 821
EP - 836
JO - Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience
JF - Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience
IS - 6
ER -