Investigating Location-specific Contextual Modulations of Object Processing

Abstract

Investigating Location-specific Contextual Modulations of Object Processing. In our everyday surroundings, objects never appear in isolation, but they are integrated within a scene context. This context is able to facilitate object recognition. However, it is unknown what specific contextual cues are contributing to this facilitation effect. Here, we investigate the influence of an object’s estimated size, inferred from the viewing distance. In an fMRI experiment, participants viewed scenes in which the object’s location and size was manipulated, such that they were either congruently (e.g., near and large) or incongruently (e.g., far and large) presented. Decoding analyses showed that congruently presented objects were better represented in object-selective areas than incongruently presented objects. This congruency effect was not found in early visual cortex. This indicates that an object’s estimated size, which can be inferred from the viewing distance, contributes to the neural representation of that object in the object-selective cortex. Keywords: Object perception, contextual feedback, fMRI, MVPA