Experimental Psychology I, Institute of Psychology, Osnabrück University, Osnabrück, Germany.
Department of Psychology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway.
Psychophysiology. 2024 May;61(5):e14519. doi: 10.1111/psyp.14519. Epub 2024 Jan 14.
Human face perception is a specialized visual process with inherent social significance. The neural mechanisms reflecting this intricate cognitive process have evolved in spatially complex and emotionally rich environments. Previous research using VR to transfer an established face perception paradigm to realistic conditions has shown that the functional properties of face-sensitive neural correlates typically observed in the laboratory are attenuated outside the original modality. The present study builds on these results by comparing the perception of persons and objects under conventional laboratory (PC) and realistic conditions in VR. Adhering to established paradigms, the PC- and VR modalities both featured images of persons and cars alongside standard control images. To investigate the individual stages of realistic face processing, response times, the typical face-sensitive N170 component, and relevant subsequent components (L1, L2; pre-, post-response) were analyzed within and between modalities. The between-modality comparison of response times and component latencies revealed generally faster processing under realistic conditions. However, the obtained N170 latency and amplitude differences showed reduced discriminative capacity under realistic conditions during this early stage. These findings suggest that the effects commonly observed in the lab are specific to monitor-based presentations. Analyses of later and response-locked components showed specific neural mechanisms for identification and evaluation are employed when perceiving the stimuli under realistic conditions, reflected in discernible amplitude differences in response to faces and objects beyond the basic perceptual features. Conversely, the results do not provide evidence for comparable stimulus-specific perceptual processing pathways when viewing pictures of the stimuli under conventional laboratory conditions.
人类面孔感知是一种具有固有社会意义的专门视觉过程。反映这种复杂认知过程的神经机制是在空间复杂和情感丰富的环境中进化而来的。先前使用 VR 将已建立的面孔感知范式转移到现实条件下的研究表明，在实验室中通常观察到的与面孔敏感相关的神经相关性的功能特性在原始模态之外会减弱。本研究通过在传统实验室（PC）和 VR 中的现实条件下比较人和物体的感知来扩展这些结果。遵循既定范式，PC 和 VR 模态都具有人物和汽车的图像以及标准控制图像。为了研究真实面部处理的各个阶段，在模态内和模态之间分析了反应时间、典型的面孔敏感 N170 成分以及相关的后续成分（L1、L2；预反应、后反应）。反应时间和成分潜伏期的模态间比较表明，在现实条件下，处理速度通常更快。然而，在这个早期阶段，获得的 N170 潜伏期和幅度差异表明，在现实条件下，其区分能力降低。这些发现表明，在实验室中通常观察到的影响是特定于基于监视器的呈现的。对后期和反应锁定成分的分析表明，当在现实条件下感知刺激时，会采用特定的神经机制来进行识别和评估，这反映在对面孔和物体的反应中可分辨的幅度差异，而不仅仅是基本的感知特征。相反，结果并未提供在传统实验室条件下观看刺激图片时具有可比的刺激特定感知处理途径的证据。
