Periodic Reporting for period 1 - COREDIM (Uncovering the core dimensions of visual object representations)
Okres sprawozdawczy: 2022-07-01 do 2024-12-31
COREDIM addresses these challenges with two primary objectives. First, the project aims to uncover the core dimensions underlying visual object representations in the so-called ventral visual system, a set of brain regions critical for processing visual information. Beyond identifying these core dimensions, the second objective is to untangle the roles of visual information and semantic knowledge in shaping how we understand objects.
The second objective of COREDIM is to distinguish the role of visual perception and semantic knowledge in our object representations. To address this, we have used innovative experimental designs using speeded similarity judgments. In a first step, we have compared different similarity tasks to each other, identifying the unique and shared aspects of mental representations measured by these tasks. In the next step, we will use speeded similarity judgments in a visual search task. This will identify core dimensions underlying fast representations which also serve as the basis for visual search without a predefined target. We will further use unrecognizable images to distinguish the impact of visual dimensions from the semantic knowledge we have about objects. In addition, this part of the project involves comparing human visual processing with that of non-human primates who lack the same level of semantic knowledge, where we have identified both commonalities and differences in their visual processing strategies. Together, this work promises a much better understanding of how strongly our object processing relies on vision alone as compared to our object knowledge.