Early sensitivity of evoked potentials to surface and volumetric structure during the visual perception of three‐dimensional object shape

Abstract

This study used event‐related potentials (ERPs) to elucidate how the human visual system processes three‐dimensional (3D) object shape structure. In particular, we examined whether the perceptual mechanisms that support the analysis of 3D shape are differentially sensitive to higher‐order surface and volumetric part structure. Observers performed a whole‐part novel object matching task in which part stimuli comprised sub‐regions of closed edge contour, surfaces or volumetric parts. Behavioural response latency data showed an advantage in matching surfaces and volumetric parts to whole objects over contours, but no difference between surfaces and volumes. ERPs were analysed using a convergence of approaches based on stimulus dependent amplitude modulations of evoked potentials, topographic segmentation and spatial frequency oscillations. The results showed early differential perceptual processing of contours, surfaces and volumetric part stimuli. This was first reliably observed over occipitoparietal electrodes during the N1 (140‐200ms) with a mean peak latency of 170ms, and continued on subsequent P2 (220‐260ms) and N2 (260‐320ms) components. This differential sensitivity in perceptual processing during the N1 was accompanied by distinct microstate patterns that distinguished among contours, surfaces and volumes, and predominant theta band activity around 4‐7Hz over right occipitoparietal and orbitofrontal sites. These results provide the first evidence of early differential perceptual processing of higher‐order surface and volumetric shape structure within the first 200ms of stimulus processing. The findings challenge theoretical models of object recognition that do not attribute functional significance to surface and volumetric object structure during visual perception.

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