The nature of upright and inverted face representations: an adaptation-transfer study of configuration

Published online xxx Keywords: Face inversion effect t r a c t It is considered that whole-face processing of spatial structure may only be possible in upright faces, with only local feature processing in inverted faces. We asked whether this was due to impoverished representations of inverted faces. We performed two experiments. In the first, we divided faces into segments to create 'exploded' faces with disrupted second-order structures, and 'scrambled' faces with altered first-order relations; in the second we shifted features within intact facial outlines to create equivalent disruptions of spatial structure. In both we assessed the transfer of adaptation between faces with altered structure and intact faces. Scrambled adaptors did not adapt upright or inverted intact faces, indicating that a whole-face configuration is required at either orientation. Both upright and inverted faces showed a similar decline in aftereffect magnitude when adapting faces had altered second-order structure, implying that this structure is present in both upright and inverted face representations. We conclude that inverted faces are not represented simply as a collection of features, but have a whole-face configuration with second-order structure, similar to upright faces. Thus the qualitative impairments induced by inversion are not due to degraded inverted facial representations, but may reflect limitations in perceptual mechanisms. ª 2011 Elsevier Srl. All rights reserved. Faces are processed by the human visual system in a manner that is sufficiently precise and efficient to allow us to rapidly identify thousands of individual faces, some at a single glance. This expert processing is orientation-dependent, in that recognition of faces is far better when faces are viewed in the customary upright orientation than when seen inverted, i.e., rotated in the picture plan

Metabolic Tumour Volume Is Prognostic in Patients with Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer Treated with Stereotactic Ablative Radiotherapy

Introduction: Stereotactic ablative radiotherapy (SABR) is a relatively new technique for the curative-intent treatment of patients with inoperable early-stage non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Previous studies have demonstrated a prognostic value for positron emission tomography–computed tomography (PET/CT) parameters, including maximal standardized uptake value (SUVmax), metabolic tumour volume (MTV), and total lesion glycolysis (TLG) in lung cancer patients. We aimed to determine which pet/ct parameter is most prognostic of local control (LC) and overall survival (OS) in patients treated with SABR for NSCLC. Methods: We conducted a retrospective review of patients treated with SABR for stage i inoperable NSCLC at BC Cancer between 2009 and 2013. The Akaike information criterion was used to compare the prognostic value of the various PET/CT parameters. Results: The study included 134 patients with a median age of 76 years. Median tumour diameter was 2.2 cm, gross tumour volume was 8.1 mL, SUVmax was 7.9, MTV was 2.4 mL, and tlg was 10.9 SUV•mL. The 2-year LC was 92%, and os was 66%. On univariate and multivariate analysis, imaging variables including tumour size, gross tumour volume, SUVmax, MTV, and tlg were all associated with worse LC. Tumour size was not associated with significantly worse OS, but other imaging variables were. The PET/CT parameter most prognostic of LC was MTV. Compared with SUVmax, TLG and MTV were more prognostic of OS. Conclusions: In patients with early-stage NSCLC treated with SABR, MTV appears to be prognostic of LC and OS