Nonaccidental properties underlie shape recognition in Mammalian and nonmammalian vision

Brett M Gibson; Olga F Lazareva; Frédéric Gosselin; Philippe G Schyns; Edward A Wasserman

doi:10.1016/j.cub.2006.12.025

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Nonaccidental properties underlie shape recognition in Mammalian and nonmammalian vision

Journal article

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Nonaccidental properties underlie shape recognition in Mammalian and nonmammalian vision

Brett M Gibson, Olga F Lazareva, Frédéric Gosselin, Philippe G Schyns and Edward A Wasserman

Current biology, Vol.17(4), pp.336-340

02/20/2007

DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2006.12.025

PMID: 17275301

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Abstract

An infinite number of 2D patterns on the retina can correspond to a single 3D object. How do visual systems resolve this ill-posed problem and recognize objects from only a few 2D retinal projections in varied exposure conditions? Theories of object recognition rely on the nonaccidental statistics of edge properties, mainly symmetry, collinearity, curvilinearity, and cotermination. These statistics are determined by the image-formation process (i.e., the 2D retinal projection of a 3D object ); their existence under a range of viewpoints enables viewpoint-invariant recognition. An important question in behavioral biology is whether the visual systems of nonmammalian animals have also evolved biases to utilize nonaccidental statistics . Here, we trained humans and pigeons to recognize four shapes. With the Bubbles technique, we determined which stimulus properties both species used to recognize the shapes. Both humans and pigeons used cotermination, the most diagnostic nonaccidental property of real-world objects, despite evidence from a model computer observer that cotermination was not the most diagnostic pictorial information in this particular task. This result reveals that a nonmammalian visual system that is different anatomically from the human visual system is also biased to recognize objects from nonaccidental statistics.

Species Specificity

Humans

Linear Models

Male

Pattern Recognition, Visual - physiology

Columbidae - physiology

Recognition (Psychology) - physiology

Vision, Ocular - physiology

Animals

Form Perception - physiology

Adult

Female

Photic Stimulation

Details

Title: Subtitle: Nonaccidental properties underlie shape recognition in Mammalian and nonmammalian vision
Creators: Brett M Gibson - Department of Psychology, University of New Hampshire, Conant Hall, 10 Library Way, Durham, New Hampshire 03824, USA. bgibson@cisunix.unh.edu
Olga F Lazareva
Frédéric Gosselin
Philippe G Schyns
Edward A Wasserman
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Current biology, Vol.17(4), pp.336-340
Publisher: England
DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2006.12.025
PMID: 17275301
ISSN: 0960-9822
eISSN: 1879-0445
Language: English
Date published: 02/20/2007
Academic Unit: Psychological and Brain Sciences; Iowa Neuroscience Institute
Record Identifier: 9984070576202771

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