How plausible is a subcortical account of rapid visual recognition?

Maxime Cauchoix (1) , Sébastien M Crouzet (2)

1 CERCO - Centre de recherche cerveau et cognition
2 Institute of Medical Psychology

Primates recognize objects in natural visual scenes with great rapidity. The ventral visual cortex is usually assumed to play a major role in this ability ("high- road"). However, the "low-road" alternative frequently proposed is that the visual cortex is bypassed by a rapid subcortical route to the amygdala, especially in the case of biologically relevant and emotional stimuli. This paper highlights the lack of evidence from psychophysics and computational models to support this "low-road" alternative. Most importantly, the timing of neural responses invites a serious reconsideration of the low-road role in rapid processing of visual objects.

Domaines: Neurosciences [q-bio.NC]

Maxime Cauchoix, Sébastien M Crouzet. How plausible is a subcortical account of rapid visual recognition?. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 2013, 7, pp.39. ⟨10.3389/fnhum.2013.00039⟩. ⟨hal-00797461⟩