Amodal completion across the brain: The impact of structure and knowledge

TL;DR

This study explores how the brain completes objects partially hidden from view, finding that higher-level brain regions are more influenced by structure and knowledge than early visual areas.

Contribution

The study reveals that structure and knowledge cues affect amodal completion in higher-level visual areas but not in early visual cortex.

Findings

LOC shows suppressed responses to structure and knowledge-compatible stimuli.

EVC does not show differential responses to completion types.

Structure and knowledge cues mainly impact higher-level visual processing.

Abstract

This study investigates the phenomenon of amodal completion within the context of naturalistic objects, employing a repetition suppression paradigm to disentangle the influence of structure and knowledge cues on how objects are completed. The research focuses on early visual cortex (EVC) and lateral occipital complex (LOC), shedding light on how these brain regions respond to different completion scenarios. In LOC, we observed suppressed responses to structure and knowledge-compatible stimuli, providing evidence that both cues influence neural processing in higher-level visual areas. However, in EVC, we did not find evidence for differential responses to completions compatible or incompatible with either structural or knowledge-based expectations. Together, our findings suggest that the interplay between structure and knowledge cues in amodal completion predominantly impacts higher-level visual processing, with less pronounced effects on the early visual cortex. This study contributes to our understanding of the complex mechanisms underlying visual perception and highlights the distinct roles played by different brain regions in amodal completion.

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