Trajectories make it visual:
🔵 Texture path → high alignment, low object info (upper-left quadrant)
🔴/🟢 Natural & object-only paths → more object info but no extra alignment.
This explains why better object recognition ≠ better brain prediction.

Cross-prediction: texture features predict brain responses to natural scenes almost as well as features from the originals themselves.
Local image statistics = the common representational currency between artificial and biological vision.

Three versions of each image:
🔴Natural scenes
🔵Texture-synthesized (global summaries of local stats only; no recognizable objects)
🟢Object-only (objects without backgrounds). Counterintuitive result: strongest DNN–brain alignment for texture-only images!

🧠 New preprint: Why do deep neural networks predict brain responses so well?
We find a striking dissociation: it’s not shared object recognition. Alignment is driven by sensitivity to texture-like local statistics.
📊 Study: n=57, 624k trials, 5 models doi.org/10.1101/2025...

#CCN2025 is over. Over 5 days there were 6 fantastic keynotes, 550 posters, 3 community events, 3 keynote & tutorials, 3 generative adversarial collaborations, 8 Satellite events, 1 community lunch meeting, 1 cross-conference hackathon, 1 competition, coffee all day, stroopwafels on day 1,

CCN2025 kicks off this Tuesday in Amsterdam (with satellite events Monday)! Fun fact: We might be getting the best conference weather Amsterdam has ever seen ☀️
Can't wait to meet everyone and dive into the exciting program ahead. See you there!

I am so happy—this is the first 1st author paper I have written, since the cancer diagnosis of my late wife seven years ago.
📑 PAPER ALERT: "Beyond binding: from modular to natural vision" in Trends in Cognitive Sciences (2025) sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

New preprint (#neuroscience #deeplearning doi.org/10.1101/2025...)! We trained 20 DCNNs on 941235 images with varying scene segmentation (original. object-only, silhouette, background-only). Despite object recognition varying (27-53%), all networks showed similar EEG prediction.

The evening will be filled with further events and elements by the local organising committee @niklasmuller.bsky.social @tdado.bsky.social @mdhk.net

Also for the first three hours enjoy complimentary drinks including a curated selection of four specialty beers alongside red and white wines

Next week registration for CCN2025 will open. Do not forget to check this years social. It will be at IJver, nested in Amsterdam North's iconic NDSM wharf. There will be a 7 course walking dinner.

🔬 3/5 Using advanced brain mapping techniques, we tested how damage to specific brain regions affects visual processing. Surprise: We didn't find the expected connections between brain damage & processing problems!

🧠 2/5 Mid-level visual processing bridges basic sensory input & object recognition. Traditional models say specific brain regions handle visual qualities like color (V4) & motion (MT/V5). Here's what we found studying 307 stroke patients...