Contours drive distinct orientation selectivity in the human visual system.

ABSTRACT: Orientation processing is central to visual perception, yet the contributions of different image features in natural scene orientation processing remain unresolved. Here, we present converging behavioral and neural evidence that human orientation judgments in real-world scenes depend more strongly on contours delineating object structure than on orientation energy from filter-based computations. In Study 1, participants judged the average orientation of image patches chosen to maximize the discrepancy between contour-based and filter-based orientation estimates. Judgments consistently matched contour-based estimates, indicating a perceptual bias for object boundaries. In Study 2, we modeled fMRI responses from the Natural Scenes Dataset using three image-computable models: Photo-Steerable

SUBMITTER: Han S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12804738 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature