The Neuroscience of Object Recognition

Object recognition in humans is the capacity to identify the physical characteristics of an object and assign characteristics to the same object including, but not limited to, usage and previous experience with that object or objects similar to it. Humans must be able to recognize an object’s color, contour, shape, size, and other attributes in order to properly categorize and interact with any object. According to numerous models and neurological scans, such as fMRIs, humans undergo various steps in their brain in order to perceive an object[1]. First, the most elementary components of the brain like depth, color, and size, must be analyzed by the different regions of the brain that specialize in such characteristics. Secondly, figure-ground separation must take place, allowing for the elements analyzed in step 1 to be grouped and categorized in different areas of the visual form. Finally, a person’s memory comes into play, pairing visual cues with descriptions stored in one’s memory to apply meaning, use, and fulfill the recognition process. In each of these steps, numerous other processes take place to fulfill the different requirements and give a human the complete representation of the object.

Areas Of The Brain Implicated In Object Recognition

Research tells us that half of the nonhuman primate neocortex is devoted to visual processing[2].

References

1. Humphreys, G., Price, C., & Riddoch, J. (1999). From objects to names: A cognitive neuroscience approach. Psychological Research , 62, 118-130.

2. DiCarlo, James J., Davide Zoccolan, and Nicole C. Rust. "How Does the Brain Solve Visual Object Recognition?" Neuron 73.3 (2012): 415-34. Cell.com. Web. 14 Aug. 2013. <http://www.cell.com/neuron/retrieve/pii/S089662731200092X>. .