Human cognitive neuroscience seminar

Speaker: Professor Maria Kozhevnikov (National University of Singapore, Harvard Medical School)

Topic: Individual differences in object vs. spatial imagery: From neural correlates to real life applications

Abstract: The visual system processes object properties (such as shape and color) and spatial properties (such as location and spatial relations) in subsystems. The findings reported in this presentation provide evidence that object-spatial dissociation extends to individual differences in visual processing. First, I will present the results of an fMRI study showing that high object-processing ability is associated with more efficient use of visual-object resources in the object-processing (ventral) pathway, while high spatial-processing ability is associated with more efficient use of visual-spatial processing resources in the spatial processing (dorsal) pathway. Second, I will present a study that investigates the relationship between performances on various measures of object and spatial processing abilities and areas of specialization (visual art, science and humanities). The results of my research demonstrate that scientists and engineers excel in spatial imagery and rely primarily on spatial strategies, whereas visual artists excel in object imagery and prefer object-based strategies.