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Neuronal integration in visual cortex elevates face category tuning to conscious face perception

Johannes J. Fahrenfort, Tineke M. Snijders, Klaartje Heinen, Simon van Gaal, H. Steven Scholte, and Victor A. F. Lamme
PNAS December 26, 2012 109 (52) 21504-21509; https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1207414110
Johannes J. Fahrenfort
aBrain and Cognition, Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, 1018 XA, Amsterdam, The Netherlands;bCognitive Science Center Amsterdam, University of Amsterdam, 1018 WS, Amsterdam, The Netherlands;
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  • For correspondence: fahrenfort.work@gmail.com
Tineke M. Snijders
cHelmholtz Institute, Department of Experimental Psychology, Utrecht University, 3508 TC, Utrecht, The Netherlands;dRudolf Magnus Institute of Neuroscience, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University Medical Centre Utrecht, 3508 GA, Utrecht, The Netherlands;
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Klaartje Heinen
eUniversity College London Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience and Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, University College London, London WC1N 3AR, United Kingdom;
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Simon van Gaal
aBrain and Cognition, Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, 1018 XA, Amsterdam, The Netherlands;bCognitive Science Center Amsterdam, University of Amsterdam, 1018 WS, Amsterdam, The Netherlands;fCognitive Neuroimaging Unit, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, F91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France; andgNeuroSpin Center, Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique, F91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
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H. Steven Scholte
aBrain and Cognition, Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, 1018 XA, Amsterdam, The Netherlands;bCognitive Science Center Amsterdam, University of Amsterdam, 1018 WS, Amsterdam, The Netherlands;
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Victor A. F. Lamme
aBrain and Cognition, Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, 1018 XA, Amsterdam, The Netherlands;bCognitive Science Center Amsterdam, University of Amsterdam, 1018 WS, Amsterdam, The Netherlands;
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  1. Edited by Charles Gross, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, and approved November 12, 2012 (received for review May 10, 2012)

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Abstract

The human brain has the extraordinary capability to transform cluttered sensory input into distinct object representations. For example, it is able to rapidly and seemingly without effort detect object categories in complex natural scenes. Surprisingly, category tuning is not sufficient to achieve conscious recognition of objects. What neural process beyond category extraction might elevate neural representations to the level where objects are consciously perceived? Here we show that visible and invisible faces produce similar category-selective responses in the ventral visual cortex. The pattern of neural activity evoked by visible faces could be used to decode the presence of invisible faces and vice versa. However, only visible faces caused extensive response enhancements and changes in neural oscillatory synchronization, as well as increased functional connectivity between higher and lower visual areas. We conclude that conscious face perception is more tightly linked to neural processes of sustained information integration and binding than to processes accommodating face category tuning.

  • consciousness
  • object categorization
  • figure–ground segregation
  • perceptual organization
  • recurrent processing

Footnotes

  • ↵1To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: fahrenfort.work{at}gmail.com.
  • Author contributions: J.J.F., K.H., S.v.G., H.S.S., and V.A.F.L. designed research; J.J.F. performed research; J.J.F. and T.M.S. analyzed data; and J.J.F. and T.M.S. wrote the paper.

  • The authors declare no conflict of interest.

  • This article is a PNAS Direct Submission.

  • This article contains supporting information online at www.pnas.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1073/pnas.1207414110/-/DCSupplemental.

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Neuronal integration and conscious perception
Johannes J. Fahrenfort, Tineke M. Snijders, Klaartje Heinen, Simon van Gaal, H. Steven Scholte, Victor A. F. Lamme
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Dec 2012, 109 (52) 21504-21509; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1207414110

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Neuronal integration and conscious perception
Johannes J. Fahrenfort, Tineke M. Snijders, Klaartje Heinen, Simon van Gaal, H. Steven Scholte, Victor A. F. Lamme
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Dec 2012, 109 (52) 21504-21509; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1207414110
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