The time-course of real-world scene perception: spatial and semantic processing
The time-course of real-world scene perception: spatial and semantic processing
Real-world scene perception unfolds remarkably quickly, yet the underlying visual processes are poorly understood. Space-centered theory maintains that a scene's spatial structure (e.g., openness, mean depth) can be rapidly recovered from low-level image statistics. In turn, the statistical relationship between a scene's spatial properties and semantic content allows for semantic identity to be inferred from its layout. We tested this theory by investigating (1) the temporal dynamics of spatial and semantic perception in real-world scenes, and (2) dependencies between spatial and semantic judgments. Participants viewed backward-masked images for 13.3 to 106.7 ms, and identified the semantic (e.g., beach, road) or spatial structure (e.g., open, closed-off) category. We found no temporal precedence of spatial discrimination relative to semantic discrimination. Computational analyses further suggest that, instead of using spatial layout to infer semantic categories, humans exploit semantic information to discriminate spatial structure categories. These findings challenge traditional ‘bottom-up’ views of scene perception.
Biological sciences, Neuroscience, Sensory neuroscience
Anderson, Matt D.
53946cbf-a70a-4782-ab28-12f3b9f34aa6
Elder, James
b2ae1ed7-6081-4e4d-9818-b8db753d0531
Graf, Erich
1a5123e2-8f05-4084-a6e6-837dcfc66209
Adams, Wendy
25685aaa-fc54-4d25-8d65-f35f4c5ab688
22 December 2022
Anderson, Matt D.
53946cbf-a70a-4782-ab28-12f3b9f34aa6
Elder, James
b2ae1ed7-6081-4e4d-9818-b8db753d0531
Graf, Erich
1a5123e2-8f05-4084-a6e6-837dcfc66209
Adams, Wendy
25685aaa-fc54-4d25-8d65-f35f4c5ab688
Anderson, Matt D., Elder, James, Graf, Erich and Adams, Wendy
(2022)
The time-course of real-world scene perception: spatial and semantic processing.
iScience, 25 (12), [105633].
(doi:10.1016/j.isci.2022.105633).
Abstract
Real-world scene perception unfolds remarkably quickly, yet the underlying visual processes are poorly understood. Space-centered theory maintains that a scene's spatial structure (e.g., openness, mean depth) can be rapidly recovered from low-level image statistics. In turn, the statistical relationship between a scene's spatial properties and semantic content allows for semantic identity to be inferred from its layout. We tested this theory by investigating (1) the temporal dynamics of spatial and semantic perception in real-world scenes, and (2) dependencies between spatial and semantic judgments. Participants viewed backward-masked images for 13.3 to 106.7 ms, and identified the semantic (e.g., beach, road) or spatial structure (e.g., open, closed-off) category. We found no temporal precedence of spatial discrimination relative to semantic discrimination. Computational analyses further suggest that, instead of using spatial layout to infer semantic categories, humans exploit semantic information to discriminate spatial structure categories. These findings challenge traditional ‘bottom-up’ views of scene perception.
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More information
Accepted/In Press date: 16 November 2022
e-pub ahead of print date: 19 November 2022
Published date: 22 December 2022
Additional Information:
Funding Information:
This work was supported by Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (UK) grants: EP/K005952/1 and EP/S016368/1. Conceptualization, M.D.A. W.J.A. and E.W.G.; Methodology, M.D.A. W.J.A. E.W.G. and J.H.E.; Software, M.D.A. and W.J.A. Validation, M.D.A. W.J.A. E.W.G. and J.H.E.; Formal Analysis, M.D.A. W.J.A. E.W.G. and J.H.E.; Investigation, M.D.A.; Resources, W.J.A. E.W.G. and J.H.E.; Data Curation, M.D.A.; Writing – Original Draft, M.D.A. W.J.A. E.W.G. and J.H.E.; Writing – Review and Editing, M.D.A. W.J.A. E.W.G. and J.H.E.; Visualization, M.D.A. Supervision, W.J.A. E.W.G. and J.H.E.; Project Administration, W.J.A. E.W.G. and J.H.E.; Funding Acquisition, W.J.A. E.W.G. and J.H.E. The authors declare no competing interests. We support inclusive, diverse, and equitable conduct of research.
Funding Information:
This work was supported by Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (UK) grants: EP/K005952/1 and EP/S016368/1 .
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 The Author(s)
Keywords:
Biological sciences, Neuroscience, Sensory neuroscience
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 472258
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/472258
ISSN: 2589-0042
PURE UUID: badf319f-d1b5-4c0b-bb9a-188137b90ab1
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Date deposited: 30 Nov 2022 17:39
Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 02:59
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Author:
James Elder
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