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The role of oscillatory brain activity in object processing and figure-ground segmentation in human vision

Kinsey, K.; Anderson, S. J.; Hadjipapas, A.; Holliday, I. E.

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Authors

Kris Kinsey Kris.Kinsey@uwe.ac.uk
Senior Lecturer in Psychology

S. J. Anderson

A. Hadjipapas

I. E. Holliday



Abstract

The perception of an object as a single entity within a visual scene requires that its features are bound together and segregated from the background and/or other objects. Here, we used magnetoencephalography (MEG) to assess the hypothesis that coherent percepts may arise from the synchronized high frequency (gamma) activity between neurons that code features of the same object. We also assessed the role of low frequency (alpha, beta) activity in object processing. The target stimulus (i.e. object) was a small patch of a concentric grating of 3. c/°, viewed eccentrically. The background stimulus was either a blank field or a concentric grating of 3. c/° periodicity, viewed centrally. With patterned backgrounds, the target stimulus emerged - through rotation about its own centre - as a circular subsection of the background. Data were acquired using a 275-channel whole-head MEG system and analyzed using Synthetic Aperture Magnetometry (SAM), which allows one to generate images of task-related cortical oscillatory power changes within specific frequency bands. Significant oscillatory activity across a broad range of frequencies was evident at the V1/V2 border, and subsequent analyses were based on a virtual electrode at this location. When the target was presented in isolation, we observed that: (i) contralateral stimulation yielded a sustained power increase in gamma activity; and (ii) both contra- and ipsilateral stimulation yielded near identical transient power changes in alpha (and beta) activity. When the target was presented against a patterned background, we observed that: (i) contralateral stimulation yielded an increase in high-gamma (> 55. Hz) power together with a decrease in low-gamma (40-55. Hz) power; and (ii) both contra- and ipsilateral stimulation yielded a transient decrease in alpha (and beta) activity, though the reduction tended to be greatest for contralateral stimulation. The opposing power changes across different regions of the gamma spectrum with 'figure/ground' stimulation suggest a possible dual role for gamma rhythms in visual object coding, and provide general support of the binding-by-synchronization hypothesis. As the power changes in alpha and beta activity were largely independent of the spatial location of the target, however, we conclude that their role in object processing may relate principally to changes in visual attention. © 2010 Elsevier B.V.

Citation

Kinsey, K., Anderson, S. J., Hadjipapas, A., & Holliday, I. E. (2011). The role of oscillatory brain activity in object processing and figure-ground segmentation in human vision. International Journal of Psychophysiology, 79(3), 392-400. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2010.12.007

Journal Article Type Article
Publication Date Mar 1, 2011
Deposit Date Feb 7, 2011
Publicly Available Date Feb 12, 2016
Journal International Journal of Psychophysiology
Print ISSN 0167-8760
Publisher Elsevier
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 79
Issue 3
Pages 392-400
DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2010.12.007
Keywords MEG, SAM, vision, object-recognition, gamma, figure–ground, binding
Public URL https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/969581
Publisher URL http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2010.12.007

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