Connectionists: Paper and thesis on orientation and face perception

[James A. Bednar]

I am very pleased to announce the publication of the following paper
in Vision Research:

  Chen Zhao, Peggy Seriès, Peter J. B. Hancock, and James A. Bednar. 
  Similar neural adaptation mechanisms underlying face gender
  and tilt aftereffects. 
  Vision Research, 51(18):2021-2030, 2011.
  http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.visres.2011.07.014

This paper may be of interest to both computational and psychophysical
researchers, because it shows how computational models developed for
low-level vision (oriented lines) can help explain higher visual
function (face gender perception).  Specifically, we found that models
based on the primary visual cortex successfully predicted previously
unknown and important aspects of face gender perception.  These
results support the idea that higher vision uses similar mechanisms as
early vision, and are in conflict with prevailing theories of face
perception that rely on norm-based encoding.

Additional details and related models are available in Roger's
recently completed PhD:

  http://homepages.inf.ed.ac.uk/jbednar/papers/zhao.phd11.pdf

We are very interested in hearing feedback about this work,
particularly from those working on norm-based theories of higher
visual perception.

Jim


Dr. James A. Bednar
Institute for Adaptive and Neural Computation
University of Edinburgh, UK
http://homepages.inf.ed.ac.uk/jbednar


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