Altered Perceptions

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Title: Altered Perceptions
 
Link: http://neurosciencenews.com/perception-neurotransmission-6313/

Summary: 
A recent study from Caltech shows how manipulation of particular regions in the brain called “face cells” can alter perception of faces and face-like objects. Face cells produce a maximum response when the subject is looking at a face but also a small response when looking at round or face-like objects. Through studying monkeys, researchers were able to discover that perception is drastically different when face cells are being manipulated. The monkey from the study was trained to look left when shown 2 identical images and look right when the images were different. When stimulating the face patches, the monkey almost always indicated that the two identical images were different. This proves that the face patch neurons are very important in the perception of faces. Another interesting discovery was made that stimulating face cells also effect perception of certain other objects. An older study done on humans showed that people’s faces seem to metamorphosis when a neurosurgeon stimulated the subject’s face cells. The findings of these studies show that while face patches are largely influential on our perception of faces, they are also a part of a larger network tasked with processing a much larger class of objects. These findings will eventually lead to more research on how many specialized networks we have for the perception of different classes of objects and how all of these networks work together to help us perceive our world.

Reflection:
Why do we have specific regions of the brain dedicated to the perception of specific objects? I had an understanding of the fact that we have a specific part of the brain designed for the recognition of faces, but before reading this article I did not know that the manipulation of these specific areas can literally cause the perception of the faces your looking at to change and warp in real time. This study relates to our vision and perception lectures from class, but we did not go into as much detail on brain structures relevant in perceiving different classes of objects. The fusiform face area was mentioned, but not the 6 structures in the brain called "brain cells" as referenced from the study. These face cells, when stimulated, can make a monkey not be able to recognize when they are looking at two pictures of two identical faces. This makes me wonder how this would affect human brains and perception and how tis could eventually lead to treatment of disorders that result in difficulty with face perception like autism and schizophrenia.  

Comments

  1. AnonymousApril 29, 2017 at 11:46 PM

    I find this study to be very interesting. Although this study was done on monkeys, these findings are important. As stated, the perception of identical faces was determined to be different by the monkeys when different face patches were stimulated. I wish this article stated how drastic a change is by giving an example from their study. Also, it would be interesting to know which face patches were linked to certain perceptions. This article has also made me wonder if we could apply these findings to possible treatment plans for individuals with disorders, like autism and schizophrenia, in order to alter and possibly improve the perception of these patients.

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