Opposing effects of selectivity and invariance in peripheral vision

Ziemba, Corey M.; Simoncelli, Eero P.

doi:10.1038/s41467-021-24880-5

Cited by 25 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 83 publications

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“…However, this conclusion could be challenged based on the finding of better 3D orientation discrimination using V3A than CIP responses (Elmore et al, 2019). The current findings corroborated that result but also reconciled the apparent contradiction by revealing a tradeoff between selectivity and invariance as visual information ascended the pathway (Ziemba and Simoncelli, 2021).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 87%

Parallel processing, hierarchical transformations, and sensorimotor associations along the ‘where’ pathway

Doudlah

Chang

Thompson

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Visually guided behaviors require the brain to transform ambiguous retinal images into object-level spatial representations and implement sensorimotor transformations. These processes are supported by the dorsal ‘where’ pathway. However, the specific functional contributions of areas along this pathway remain elusive due in part to methodological differences across studies. We previously showed that macaque caudal intraparietal (CIP) area neurons possess robust three-dimensional (3D) visual representations, carry choice-related and presaccadic activity, and exhibit experience-dependent sensorimotor associations (Chang et al., 2020b). Here, we used a common experimental design to reveal parallel processing, hierarchical transformations, and the formation of sensorimotor associations along the ‘where’ pathway by extending the investigation to V3A, a major feedforward input to CIP. Higher-level 3D representations and choice-related activity were more prevalent in CIP than V3A. Both areas contained presaccadic activity that predicted the direction/timing of eye movements. Intriguingly, the time-course of presaccadic activity in CIP aligned with the temporally integrated V3A output. Sensorimotor associations between 3D orientation and saccade direction preferences were strongest in CIP and moderated by choice signals in both areas. Together, the results explicate parallel representations, hierarchical transformations, and functional associations of visual and presaccadic signals at a key juncture in the ‘where’ pathway.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 87%

Parallel processing, hierarchical transformations, and sensorimotor associations along the ‘where’ pathway

Doudlah

Chang

Thompson

et al. 2022

Preprint

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“…To quantify the extent to which image features set the limits of naturalness discrimination, we built a model observer that measures the task-relevance of the texture statistics within each set of apertured images. Image aperturing led to a small amount of drift in each image’s texture statistics, such that different images synthesized to have the same naturalness could differ slightly in their statistics (Ziemba et al, 2018; Ziemba & Simoncelli, 2021). The model observer’s sensitivity corresponds to the naturalness level at which texture statistics are no longer a reliable cue for discrimination.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Image aperturing led to a small amount of drift in each image's texture statistics, such that different images synthesized to have the same naturalness could differ slightly in their statistics (Ziemba et al, 2018;Ziemba & Simoncelli, 2021). The model observer's sensitivity corresponds to the naturalness level at which texture statistics are no longer a reliable cue for discrimination.…”

Section: Efficiencymentioning

confidence: 99%

Sensitivity to naturalistic texture relies primarily on high spatial frequencies

Lieber

Lee

Majaj

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Natural images contain information at multiple spatial scales. Although we understand how early visual mechanisms split multi-scale images into distinct spatial frequency channels, we do not know how the outputs of these channels are processed further by mid-level visual mechanisms. We have recently developed a naturalness discrimination task that uses synthesized, multi-scale textures to isolate these mid-level mechanisms (Freeman et. al. 2013). Here, we use three experimental manipulations (image blur, image rescaling, and eccentric viewing) to show that naturalness sensitivity is strongly dependent on image features at high object spatial frequencies (measured in cycles/image). As a result, sensitivity depends on a texture acuity limit, a property of the visual system that sets the highest retinal spatial frequency (measured in cycles/degree) that can be used to solve the task. A model observer analysis shows that high object spatial frequencies carry more task-relevant information than low object spatial frequencies. Comparing the outcome of this analysis with human performance reveals that human observers' efficiency is similar for all object spatial frequencies. We conclude that the mid-level mechanisms that underlie naturalness sensitivity effectively extract information from all image features below the texture acuity limit, regardless of their retinal and object spatial frequency.

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“…It is worth noting that studies that model complex feature selectivity as a joint response dependence among V1-like units, whether physiologically (Freeman et al, 2013) or perceptually (Keshvari and Rosenholtz, 2016), do not incorporate any of the known spatial nonlinearities in V1 responses in their models (e.g., divisive surround suppression). Recent work has shown that the incorporation of these nonlinearities is critical for understanding spatial contextual effects on perception, including crowding (Henry and Kohn, 2020;Ziemba and Simoncelli, 2021).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Feature representation under crowding in V1 and V4 neuronal populations

Henry

Kohn

2021

Preprint

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Visual perception depends strongly on spatial context. A profound example is visual crowding, whereby the presence of nearby stimuli impairs discriminability of object features. Despite extensive work on both perceptual crowding and the spatial integrative properties of visual cortical neurons, the link between these two aspects of visual processing remains unclear. To understand better the neural basis of crowding, we recorded simultaneously from neuronal populations in V1 and V4 of fixating macaque monkeys. We assessed the information about the orientation of a visual target available from the measured responses, both for targets presented in isolation and amid distractors. Both single neuron and population responses had less information about target orientation when distractors were present. Information loss was moderate in V1 and more substantial in V4. Information loss could be traced to systematic divisive and additive changes in neuronal tuning. Tuning changes were more severe in V4; in addition, tuning exhibited greater context-dependent distortions in V4, further restricting the ability of a fixed sensory readout strategy to extract accurate feature information across changing environments. Our results provide a direct test of crowding effects at different stages of the visual hierarchy, reveal how these effects alter the spiking activity of cortical populations by which sensory stimuli are encoded, and connect these changes to established mechanisms of neuronal spatial integration.

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Opposing effects of selectivity and invariance in peripheral vision

Cited by 25 publications

References 83 publications

Parallel processing, hierarchical transformations, and sensorimotor associations along the ‘where’ pathway

Parallel processing, hierarchical transformations, and sensorimotor associations along the ‘where’ pathway

Sensitivity to naturalistic texture relies primarily on high spatial frequencies

Feature representation under crowding in V1 and V4 neuronal populations

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