Cite as:
Malach R, 2007, "Critical elements in human object perception" Perception 36 ECVP Abstract Supplement

Critical elements in human object perception

R Malach

What are the critical neuronal activity patterns needed for eliciting an object percept? This deceptively simple question is actually extremely difficult to decipher. Here I address this question using fMRI data obtained from healthy subjects and electrical recordings in clinical patients. I focus on two spatio-temporal dimensions of neuronal activity in high-order ventral stream visual areas of the human cortex. At the temporal dimension, I show results from backward-masking experiments in which object images were presented briefly, followed by a disruptive visual stimulus. Results from such experiments reveal that a minimal ignition time leads to a unique profile of electrical activity as well as fMRI activation, and both are tightly linked to the emergence of an object percept. At the spatial dimension, I describe recent results indicating an antagonistic relationship between activity in human sensory areas and an intrinsic self-related cortical network. The relevance of these findings to neuronal models of human object perception is discussed.

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