Behavioural and imaging studies of face and object perception

该研究计划使用心理物理和功能成像技术相结合，以检查大脑腹侧视觉通路中视觉处理的中间水平，该通路负责物体识别。 部分拟议的工作解决了有关形状信息在视觉系统中编码方式的基本理论问题（例如，苹果是圆的，而梨是细长的），以及形状代码如何与其他线索结合以识别对象（例如，苹果通常是有光泽的红色，而梨更可能是哑光棕色）。 我的作品既使用抽象的图案，也使用熟悉的物体，包括人脸、水果和蔬菜。 我想知道不同种类的物体是如何在大脑中相互区分的，以及面孔是否像一些人所说的那样，形成了一个与其他物体不同的独特类别。 这一建议超越了这些基本问题，着眼于两个具有直接实际意义的问题。 首先，我们如何识别一张脸的年龄？面部表情中有哪些线索可以告诉我们这个人的年龄，哪些线索是我们最擅长检测的？ 如果我们能理解这一点，它将为改进算法提供基础，以预测一张脸在几年内的年龄（在失踪人口和刑事调查中很重要）。 其次，随着年龄的增长，我们的高级视觉能力如何变化？ 我们知道，由于眼球水平的变化，视力的某些方面可能会随着年龄的增长而恶化;然而，我们对大脑视觉部分处理不断变化的视觉场景的空间和时间方面的方式是否发生变化知之甚少。 了解这一点对于为老年人设计支持性环境和评估驾驶能力等能力都很重要。

This research program uses a combination of psychophysical and functional imaging techniques to examine intermediate levels of visual processing in the ventral visual pathway of the brain, the pathway responsible for object recognition. Part of the proposed work addresses basic theoretical issues concerning the way information about shape is encoded in the visual system (e.g. that an apple is round, while a pear is elongated) and how that shape code is combined with other cues to object identity (e.g., apples are often shiny and red, while pears are more likely to be matte brown). My work uses both abstract patterns and familiar objects including human faces, and fruits and vegetables. I want to learn how categories of objects are differentiated from one another in the brain and whether faces form a unique category treated differently from other objects, as some have suggested. This proposal goes beyond these basic questions to look at two problems with immediate practical significance. Firstly, how do we recognize the age of a face? What are the cues in a face that tell us how old the person is, and which of these cues are we best at detecting? If we can understand this, it will provide a basis for improving algorithms for predicting how a face will age over a period of years (important in missing persons and criminal investigations). Secondly, how do our higher level visual abilities change as we get older? We know that some aspects of vision may deteriorate with age due to changes at the level of the eyeball; however, we know less about whether there are changes in the way visual parts of the brain process spatial and temporal aspects of the constantly changing visual scene. Understanding this has importance in both designing supportive environments for the elderly, and for assessing competencies such as driving ability.