Dynamic object recognition.pdf

Rapid and accurate recognition of objects in the envi- ronment can be critical for survival of humans and nonhu- mans alike, and hence the existence of cognitive processes necessary for object recognition should be widespread throughout the animal kingdom. Nevertheless, the nature of these processes could differ across species, making object recognition an interesting ability to investigate in comparative work. The visual and cognitive processes by means of which objects are recognized by shape informa- tion alone have been the subject of intensive investigation and theorizing in humans (e.g., Biederman, 1987; Bült- hoff Edelman, 1992; Edelman, 1999; Tarr Pinker, 1989) and recently in pigeons (e.g., Friedman, Spetch, Ferrey, 2005; Peissig, Wasserman, Young Biederman, 2002; Spetch Friedman, 2003; Spetch, Friedman, Reid, 2001; Wasserman et al., 1996). Pigeons provide an interesting comparison with humans because they are highly visual creatures, but they differ substantially from humans both in their visual experiences and in the mor- phology of their visual system (see Husband Shimizu, 2001; Zeigler Bischof, 1993), each of which might impact object recognition. For example, birds, through flight, may require a different set of processes for rapid comprehension of the 3-D world than do humans. Pigeons falso have two fovea-like specialized retinal areas, each o which is similar to the human fovea. One appears to be specialized for near frontal vision and presumably facili- tates detection and selection of grain. The other area ap- dpears to serve more distant monocular lateral vision, an may allow navigation, approach and avoidance of objects during flying, and monitoring of predators (see Blough, 2001). Recent studies on recognition of static objects have suggested that there are interesting similarities and dif- ferences between the cognitive processes underlying the r bird’s eye view of the world and those that underlie ou own (reviewed by Spet