Davida's deficits: weak encoding of impoverished stimuli or faulty egocentric representation?. Issue 1 (17th February 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Popovkina, Dina V.; Pasupathy, Anitha
• Is Part Of: Cognitive neuropsychology. Volume 39:Issue 1/2(2022)
• Page Start: 99
• Page End: 102
• Publication Date: 2022-02-17
• Subjects: Ventral visual pathway -- shape perception -- object recognition -- object-centered reference frame -- visual cortex; Neuropsychology -- Periodicals; 152
• DOI: 10.1080/02643294.2022.2083947
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0264-3294

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Vannuscorps and colleagues present the fascinating case of Davida, a young person who makes systematic errors in judgments related to orientations of sharp or high-contrast visual stimuli. In this commentary, we discuss the findings in the context of observations from mid-level ventral visual stream physiology. We propose two additional interpretations for the specificity of the behavioural deficits: the observed impairments in orientation judgments may be consistent with a system that is not able to unambiguously represent certain impoverished stimuli, or with a system that is not able to translate visual input into head- or body-centered coordinates. Davida's case offers a unique glimpse into the complex cascade of transformations that enable accurate orientation judgments, and sparks curiosity about which mechanistic disruptions can produce such specific unstable percepts.