Patterns of neural response in scene-selective regions of the human brain are affected by low-level manipulations of spatial frequency

TY - JOUR

T1 - Patterns of neural response in scene-selective regions of the human brain are affected by low-level manipulations of spatial frequency

AU - Watson, David Mark

AU - Hymers, Mark

AU - Hartley, Tom

AU - Andrews, Tim

N1 - © 2015 Elsevier. This is an author-produced version of the published paper. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher’s self-archiving policy. Further copying may not be permitted; contact the publisher for details

PY - 2016/1/1

Y1 - 2016/1/1

N2 - Neuroimaging studies have found distinct patterns of response to different categories of scenes. However, the relative importance of low-level image properties in generating these response patterns is not fully understood. To address this issue, we directly manipulated the low level properties of scenes in a way that preserved the ability to perceive the category. We then measured the effect of these manipulations on category-selective patterns of fMRI response in the PPA, RSC and OPA. In Experiment 1, a horizontal-pass or vertical-pass orientation filter was applied to images of indoor and natural scenes. The image filter did not have a large effect on the patterns of response. For example, vertical- and horizontal-pass filtered indoor images generated similar patterns of response. Similarly, vertical- and horizontal-pass filtered natural scenes generated similar patterns of response. In Experiment 2, low-pass or high-pass spatial frequency filters were applied to the images. We found that image filter had a marked effect on the patterns of response in scene-selective regions. For example, low-pass indoor images generated similar patterns of response to low-pass natural images. The effect of filter varied across different scene-selective regions, suggesting differences in the way that scenes are represented in these regions. These results indicate that patterns of response in scene-selective regions are sensitive to the low-level properties of the image, particularly the spatial frequency content.

AB - Neuroimaging studies have found distinct patterns of response to different categories of scenes. However, the relative importance of low-level image properties in generating these response patterns is not fully understood. To address this issue, we directly manipulated the low level properties of scenes in a way that preserved the ability to perceive the category. We then measured the effect of these manipulations on category-selective patterns of fMRI response in the PPA, RSC and OPA. In Experiment 1, a horizontal-pass or vertical-pass orientation filter was applied to images of indoor and natural scenes. The image filter did not have a large effect on the patterns of response. For example, vertical- and horizontal-pass filtered indoor images generated similar patterns of response. Similarly, vertical- and horizontal-pass filtered natural scenes generated similar patterns of response. In Experiment 2, low-pass or high-pass spatial frequency filters were applied to the images. We found that image filter had a marked effect on the patterns of response in scene-selective regions. For example, low-pass indoor images generated similar patterns of response to low-pass natural images. The effect of filter varied across different scene-selective regions, suggesting differences in the way that scenes are represented in these regions. These results indicate that patterns of response in scene-selective regions are sensitive to the low-level properties of the image, particularly the spatial frequency content.

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84941884912&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2015.08.058

DO - 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2015.08.058

M3 - Article

SN - 1053-8119

VL - 124

SP - 107

EP - 117

JO - Neuroimage

JF - Neuroimage

IS - Part A

ER -