Preattentive Visual Processing: A Comparison of Illusory Contour Perception and Texture Discrimination Using fMRI

In human visual perception, local features are automatically grouped into larger forms at a preattentive level, allowing discrete figures to be identified from the midst of complex visual scenes. The perception of illusory contours and discrimination of textures are proposed to result from this kind of preattentive visual processing. Functional neuroimaging studies have suggested that the right fusiform and lingual gyri are involved in both illusory contour perception and texture discrimination.