The neural bases of spatial frequency processing during scene perception

Abstract

Theories on visual perception agree that scenes are processed in terms of spatial frequencies. Low spatial frequencies (LSF) carry coarse information whereas high spatial frequencies (HSF) carry fine details of the scene. However, how and where spatial frequencies are processed within the brain remain unresolved questions. The present review addresses these issues and aims to identify the cerebral regions differentially involved in low and high spatial frequency processing, and to clarify their attributes during scene perception. Results from a number of behavioral and neuroimaging studies suggest that spatial frequency processing is lateralized in both hemispheres, with the right and left hemispheres predominantly involved in the categorization of LSF and HSF scenes, respectively. There is also evidence that spatial frequency processing is retinotopically mapped in the visual cortex. HSF scenes (as opposed to LSF) activate occipital areas in relation to foveal representations, while categorization of LSF scenes (as opposed to HSF) activates occipital areas in relation to more peripheral representations. Concomitantly, a number of studies have demonstrated that LSF information may reach high-order areas rapidly, allowing an initial coarse parsing of the visual scene, which could then be sent back through feedback into the occipito-temporal cortex to guide finer HSF-based analysis. Finally, the review addresses spatial frequency processing within scene-selective regions areas of the occipito-temporal cortex.

How does information from low and high spatial frequencies interact during scene categorization?

“…To conclude, results of the present study support the current model of visual perception (Bar, 2003;Bullier, 2001;Kauffmann et al, 2014;Peyrin et al, 2010) suggesting that, during scene categorization, fast processing of coarse LSF information allows us to efficiently access the scene category and influence further processing of fine HSF information. Our results further allow us to refine them, by showing that semantic processing of HSF information can also occur very early and override processing of LSF information when there is a semantic conflict within the stimulus, thereby highlighting their critical role in ultimately mediating scene categorization.…”

“…LSF information would be extracted first, allowing a coarse parsing of the visual input, prior to the analysis of fine information contained in HSF. In this theoretical framework, it was also hypothesized that rapid LSF information may guide the subsequent processing of HSF (Bar, 2003;Kauffmann et al, 2014;Peyrin et al, 2010;Trapp & Bar, 2015).…”

“…Converging data from neurophysiological recordings in primates (Bullier, 2001;De Valois, Albrecht, & Thorell, 1982;Poggio, 1972;Shams & von der Malsburg, 2002;Shapley & Lennie, 1985;Van Essen & Deyoe, 1995) and psychophysical studies in human (Hughes, Nozawa, & Kitterle, 1996;Parker, Lishman, & Hughes, 1996;Schyns & Oliva, 1994; for a review see indicate that the visual system extract visual information through a set of channels/ filters differently tuned to specific orientations and spatial frequency bands of the visual input. Based on these data, current models of visual perception have emphasized the role of spatial frequency information for visual categorization (Bar, 2003;Hegdé, 2008;Kauffmann, Ramanoël, & Peyrin, 2014;Peyrin et al, 2010). According to these models, visual analysis begins with the parallel extraction of different elementary features at different points of the spatial frequency spectrum that provide different information about the visual scene.…”

“…However, whether HSF processing can also influence LSF categorization was not the main focus of these studies. Although the prominent role of LSF information for rapid scene categorization has been extensively investigated and documented Schyns & Oliva, 1994; for a review see Hegdé, 2008;Kauffmann et al, 2014), there is also considerable experimental evidence of a predominant processing of HSF information even for very short stimuli exposure duration (Campagne et al, 2016;Harel & Bentin, 2009;Morrison & Schyns, 2001;Rotshtein, Schofield, Funes, & Humphreys, 2010;Schyns, 1998;Schyns & Oliva, 1999). Furthermore, many studies have shown that the use of spatial frequency information during the processing of complex stimuli such as scenes is highly flexible and depends on many factors such as stimulus exposure duration (Schyns & Oliva, 1994), category (e.g., Awasthi, Sowman, Friedman, & Williams, 2013;Collin & McMullen, 2005;Rotshtein et al, 2010;Vannucci, Viggiano, & Argenti, 2001), or task constraints (Abrams, Barbot, & Carrasco, 2010;Campagne et al, 2016;Caplette, West, Gomot, Gosselin, & Wicker, 2014;Fradcourt, Peyrin, Baciu, & Campagne, 2013;Morrison & Schyns, 2001;Ozgen, Payne, Sowden, & Schyns, 2006;Schyns & Oliva, 1999;Sowden, Özgen, Schyns, & Daoutis, 2003).…”

Rapid Objective Assessment of Contrast Sensitivity and Visual Acuity With Sweep Visual Evoked Potentials and an Extended Electrode Array

“…Moreover, even at the level of visual retinotopic areas, the right hemisphere appears to be preferentially specialized in the processing of LSF information and the left hemisphere preferentially specialized in HSF information processing [40][41][42] (see Ref. 43 for review). In particular, Peyrin et al 44 showed that, in the case of brief exposure duration, as in the sVEP used here, low and high spatial frequencies are predominantly processed by the right and left hemispheres, respectively.…”