Abstract
According to modular models of cortical organization, many areas of
the extrastriate cortex are dedicated to object categories. These
models often assume an early processing stage for the detection of
category membership. Can functional imaging isolate areas responsible
for detection of members of a category, such as faces or letters?
We consider whether responses in three different areas (two selective
for faces and one selective for letters) support category detection.
Activity in these areas habituates to the repeated presentation of
one exemplar more than to the presentation of different exemplars
of the same category, but only for the category for which the area
is selective. Thus, these areas appear to play computational roles
more complex than detection, processing stimuli at the individual
level. Drawing from prior work, we suggest that face-selective areas
may be involved in the perception of faces at the individual level,
whereas letter-selective regions may be tuning themselves to font
information in order to recognize letters more efficiently.
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