Representation of Gravity-Aligned Scene Structure in Ventral Pathway Visual Cortex.

ABSTRACT: The ventral visual pathway in humans and non-human primates is known to represent object information, including shape and identity [1]. Here, we show the ventral pathway also represents scene structure aligned with the gravitational reference frame in which objects move and interact. We analyzed shape tuning of recently described macaque monkey ventral pathway neurons that prefer scene-like stimuli to objects [2]. Individual neurons did not respond to a single shape class, but to a variety of scene elements that are typically aligned with gravity: large planes in the orientation range of ground surfaces under natural viewing conditions, planes in the orientation range of ceilings, and extended convex and concave edges in the orientation range of wall/floor/ceiling junctions. For a given ne

SUBMITTER: Vaziri S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4819394 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature