Neuronal tuning and population representations of shape and category in human visual cortex

Vasiliki Bougou, Michaël Vanhoyland, Alexander Bertrand, Wim Paesschen, Hans Op De Beeck, Peter Janssen () and Tom Theys
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Vasiliki Bougou: KU Leuven and the Leuven Brain Institute
Michaël Vanhoyland: KU Leuven and the Leuven Brain Institute
Alexander Bertrand: KU Leuven
Wim Paesschen: University Hospitals Leuven
Hans Op De Beeck: KU Leuven
Peter Janssen: KU Leuven and the Leuven Brain Institute
Tom Theys: KU Leuven and the Leuven Brain Institute

Nature Communications, 2024, vol. 15, issue 1, 1-15

Abstract: Abstract Object recognition and categorization are essential cognitive processes which engage considerable neural resources in the human ventral visual stream. However, the tuning properties of human ventral stream neurons for object shape and category are virtually unknown. We performed large-scale recordings of spiking activity in human Lateral Occipital Complex in response to stimuli in which the shape dimension was dissociated from the category dimension. Consistent with studies in nonhuman primates, the neuronal representations were primarily shape-based, although we also observed category-like encoding for images of animals. Surprisingly, linear decoders could reliably classify stimulus category even in data sets that were entirely shape-based. In addition, many recording sites showed an interaction between shape and category tuning. These results represent a detailed study on shape and category coding at the neuronal level in the human ventral visual stream, furnishing essential evidence that reconciles human imaging and macaque single-cell studies.

Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-49078-3

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