Abstract
Previous comparative work has suggested that the mechanisms of object categorization differ importantly for birds and primates.
However, behavioral and neurobiological differences do not preclude the possibility that at least some of those mechanisms
are shared across these evolutionarily distant groups. The present study integrates behavioral, neurobiological, and computational
evidence concerning the “general processes” that are involved in object recognition in vertebrates. We start by reviewing
work implicating error-driven learning in object categorization by birds and primates, and also consider neurobiological evidence
suggesting that the basal ganglia might implement this process. We then turn to work with a computational model showing that
principles of visual processing discovered in the primate brain can account for key behavioral findings in object recognition
by pigeons, including cases in which pigeons’ behavior differs from that of people. These results provide a proof of concept
that the basic principles of visual shape processing are similar across distantly related vertebrate species, thereby offering
important insights into the evolution of visual cognition.
However, behavioral and neurobiological differences do not preclude the possibility that at least some of those mechanisms
are shared across these evolutionarily distant groups. The present study integrates behavioral, neurobiological, and computational
evidence concerning the “general processes” that are involved in object recognition in vertebrates. We start by reviewing
work implicating error-driven learning in object categorization by birds and primates, and also consider neurobiological evidence
suggesting that the basal ganglia might implement this process. We then turn to work with a computational model showing that
principles of visual processing discovered in the primate brain can account for key behavioral findings in object recognition
by pigeons, including cases in which pigeons’ behavior differs from that of people. These results provide a proof of concept
that the basic principles of visual shape processing are similar across distantly related vertebrate species, thereby offering
important insights into the evolution of visual cognition.
- Content Type Journal Article
- Pages 1-21
- DOI 10.3758/s13415-011-0070-x
- Authors
- Fabian A. Soto, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA
- Edward A. Wasserman, Department of Psychology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
- Journal Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience
- Online ISSN 1531-135X
- Print ISSN 1530-7026