Seeing faces in the noise: stochastic activity in perceptual regions of the brain may influence the perception of ambiguous stimuli.

نویسندگان

  • Heather A Wild
  • Thomas A Busey
چکیده

Research on binocular rivalry and motion direction discrimination suggests that stochastic activity early in visual processing influences the perception of ambiguous stimuli. Here, we extend this to higher level tasks of word and face processing. In Experiment 1, we used blocked gender and word discrimination tasks, and in Experiment 2, we used a face versus word discrimination task. Stimuli were embedded in noise, and some trials contained only noise. In Experiment 1, we found a larger response in the N170, an ERP component associated with faces, to the noise-alone stimulus when observers were performing the gender discrimination task. The noise-alone trials in Experiment 2 were binned according to the observer's behavioral response, and there was a greater response in the N170 when they reported seeing a face. After considering various top-down and priming-related explanations, we raise the possibility that seeing a face in noise may result from greater stochastic activity in neural face-processing regions.

برای دانلود متن کامل این مقاله و بیش از 32 میلیون مقاله دیگر ابتدا ثبت نام کنید

ثبت نام

اگر عضو سایت هستید لطفا وارد حساب کاربری خود شوید

منابع مشابه

The emotive brain, the noradrenergic system, and cognition

Motivation and attention can have a profound influence on perception, learning and memory. Neuromodulatory systems, especially the noradrenergic (NE) system, co-vary with psychological states to modulate cortical arousal, influence sensory processing and promote synaptic plasticity. There is even some suggestion that the NE system might facilitate functional recovery after brain damage. Post-sy...

متن کامل

The emotive brain, the noradrenergic system, and cognition

Motivation and attention can have a profound influence on perception, learning and memory. Neuromodulatory systems, especially the noradrenergic (NE) system, co-vary with psychological states to modulate cortical arousal, influence sensory processing and promote synaptic plasticity. There is even some suggestion that the NE system might facilitate functional recovery after brain damage. Post-sy...

متن کامل

Stress and Perception of Emotional Stimuli: Long-term Stress Rewiring the Brain

Introduction: Long-term stressful situations can drastically influence one’s mental life. However, the effect of mental stress on recognition of emotional stimuli needs to be explored. In this study, recognition of emotional stimuli in a stressful situation was investigated. Four emotional conditions, including positive and negative states in both low and high levels of arousal were analy...

متن کامل

The timing of perceptual decisions for ambiguous face stimuli in the human ventral visual cortex.

When observers must discriminate a weak sensory signal in noise, early sensory areas seem to reflect the instantaneous strength of the sensory signal. In contrast, high-level parietal and prefrontal areas appear to integrate these signals over time with activity peaking at the time of the observer's decision. Here, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging to investigate how the brain forms...

متن کامل

Non-auditory Effects Caused by Environmental Noise Pollution

Noise pollution is one of the prominent environmental problems affecting human health especially in developing countries. The impacts of noise on health should not be underestimated. Exposure to acoustical stimuli impairs not only the function of auditory system but also that of many other systems of human body. Previous investigations revealed that noise exposure could result in sleep disturba...

متن کامل

ذخیره در منابع من


  با ذخیره ی این منبع در منابع من، دسترسی به آن را برای استفاده های بعدی آسان تر کنید

برای دانلود متن کامل این مقاله و بیش از 32 میلیون مقاله دیگر ابتدا ثبت نام کنید

ثبت نام

اگر عضو سایت هستید لطفا وارد حساب کاربری خود شوید

عنوان ژورنال:
  • Psychonomic bulletin & review

دوره 11 3  شماره 

صفحات  -

تاریخ انتشار 2004