The relationship between cortical object and scene areas in object and scene processing

来自行为测量、神经成像和临床数据的越来越多的证据表明，物体和场景是独立处理的，而且，与直觉相反，场景可以在不需要识别其任何组成物体的情况下进行分类。这类似于“只见森林不见树木”。本研究计划的目的是研究对象和场景处理之间的关系，特别是对象选择皮层区域对场景处理的意外抑制贡献。我们的实验室最近证明，抑制对象选择皮层（使用经颅磁刺激，TMS）可以增强我们识别场景的能力，表明抑制机制的释放。这类似于“不看树木看森林更好”。这一观察首次表明，物体和场景处理可能不像之前认为的那样独立，而是可能涉及抑制机制。在拟议的研究计划中，我们将评估这种迄今为止未被怀疑的物体选择皮层对场景感知的抑制作用的重要性，以及场景选择皮层在行为和神经水平上是否对物体处理具有相互抑制作用。

Mounting evidence from behavioural measures, neuroimaging and clinical data has shown that objects and scenes are processed independently and that, counterintuitively, a scene can be categorized without the need to recognize any of its constituent objects. This is akin to "seeing the forest without seeing the trees". The objective of this research program is to examine the relationship between object and scene processing and, in particular, an unexpected inhibitory contribution of object-selective cortical areas to scene processing. Our laboratory has recently demonstrated that inhibition of object-selective cortex (using transcranial magnetic stimulation, TMS) can enhance our ability to identify a scene, indicating release of an inhibitory mechanism. This is akin to "seeing the forest better without seeing the trees". This observation suggests for the first time that object and scene processing may not be as independent as previously thought but might instead involve inhibitory mechanisms. In the proposed research program we will assess the significance of this hitherto unsuspected inhibitory role of object-selective cortex on scene perception and whether or not there is a mutual inhibitory role of scene-selective cortex on object processing at both the behavioural and neural level.