Imaging object-scene relations processing in visible and invisible natural scenes

Nathan Faivre (), Julien Dubois, Naama Schwartz and Liad Mudrik
Additional contact information
Nathan Faivre: CNP - Center for Neuroprosthetics [Geneva] - EPFL - Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, LNCO - Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience - EPFL - Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, CES - Centre d'économie de la Sorbonne - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
Naama Schwartz: TAU - Tel Aviv University
Liad Mudrik: TAU - Tel Aviv University

Université Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Post-Print and Working Papers) from HAL

Abstract: Integrating objects with their context is a key step in interpreting complex visual scenes. Here, we used functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) while participants viewed visual scenes depicting a person performing an action with an object that was either congruent or incongruent with the scene. Univariate and multivariate analyses revealed different activity for congruent vs. incongruent scenes in the lateral occipital complex, inferior temporal cortex, parahippocampal cortex, and prefrontal cortex. Importantly, and in contrast to previous studies, these activations could not be explained by task-induced conflict. A secondary goal of this study was to examine whether processing of object-context relations could occur in the absence of awareness. We found no evidence for brain activity differentiating between congruent and incongruent invisible masked scenes, which might reflect a genuine lack of activation, or stem from the limitations of our study. Overall, our results provide novel support for the roles of parahippocampal cortex and frontal areas in conscious processing of object-context relations, which cannot be explained by either low-level differences or task demands. Yet they further suggest that brain activity is decreased by visual masking to the point of becoming undetectable with our fMRI protocol.

Keywords: Consciousness; Perception (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019-03
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Published in Scientific Reports, 2019, 9 (1), ⟨10.1038/s41598-019-38654-z⟩

There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:cesptp:hal-02067993

DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-38654-z

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in Université Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Post-Print and Working Papers) from HAL
Bibliographic data for series maintained by CCSD ().