The Distinction Mechanism of the Brain Regarding Oozing Substances vs Solid Objects
In a groundbreaking study yet to be published, a team of neuroscientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has made a significant discovery about the brain's processing of different physical matter. The research, led by Vivian Paulun, an MIT postdoc and soon-to-be faculty member at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, has the potential to revolutionise our understanding of how the brain interacts with the world around us.
The study found that the brain distinguishes between "things" (rigid or deformable objects) and "stuff" (liquids, granular substances) primarily through specialized visual cortical pathways and neurons. This distinction may help the brain plan how to interact with different kinds of physical materials, according to the researchers.
The human visual cortex is divided into multiple regions, each processing increasingly complex visual features. Early visual areas detect basic cues such as edges, orientations, colours, and spatial frequencies, which are critical for defining object boundaries and shapes. More anterior ventral regions integrate these features for invariant object recognition, rapidly identifying objects regardless of size, orientation, or illumination changes. This hierarchical processing allows clear identification of rigid or deformable objects.
The ventral stream, specialising in object recognition and form, likely contributes directly to differentiating "things" by extracting form and identity. On the other hand, the dorsal stream is more involved in spatial and movement processing.
High-level visual areas exhibit sensitivity to semantic categories and object properties, suggesting that the brain categorises objects at an abstract level beyond just shape. Recent studies show that early visual cortices receive feedback that encodes semantic information even in the absence of visual input, hinting at a complex interaction between lower-level sensory encoding and higher-level knowledge that could extend to differentiating "stuff" from "things".
While the study does not explicitly describe neurons encoding "stuff" such as liquids or granular materials, the integration of multiple receptive fields and the involvement of higher areas in material perception may underlie the brain's ability to process deformable or amorphous substances. Studies outside the provided results indicate that visual cortex areas, including parts of the ventral stream, encode material qualities like texture, translucency, and viscosity, which distinguish "stuff" from rigid objects.
The distinction between brain regions responding to "things" and "stuff" has never been seen before. When looking at fluid or gooey substances, behaviour is different compared to rigid objects, as tools are often needed to handle the former, according to Nancy Kanwisher, the Walter A. Rosenblith Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience at MIT. The MIT neuroscientists have identified parts of the brain's visual cortex that respond preferentially to the viewing of "things", such as a bouncing ball, while other parts are more activated when looking at "stuff", like a cascade of water flowing down stairs.
The paper titled "Stuff vs. things" appears today in the journal Current Biology. The study's findings may have implications for understanding perception and action in the real world, according to the researchers. The study was conducted by MIT neuroscientists, including RT Pramod and Josh Tenenbaum, with Paulun as the lead author. Nancy Kanwisher, a member of the McGovern Institute for Brain Research and MIT's Center for Brains, Minds, and Machines, was also involved in the research.
- Vivian Paulun, an MIT postdoc and soon-to-be faculty member at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, leads a team of neuroscientists who have made a significant discovery about the brain's processing of different physical matter.
- The study, yet to be published in the journal Current Biology, found that the brain distinguishes between "things" (rigid or deformable objects) and "stuff" (liquids, granular substances) primarily through specialized visual cortical pathways and neurons.
- According to the researchers, this distinction may help the brain plan how to interact with different kinds of physical materials, including those with deformable or amorphous properties, like liquids and granular materials.
- The study suggests that the brain categorises objects at an abstract level beyond just shape, with high-level visual areas exhibiting sensitivity to semantic categories and object properties.
- Developments in technology, particularly in medical-science fields, could potentially leverage the findings of this study to create more intelligent and flexible robotic systems that can interact effectively with a wider range of physical materials.
