This study highlights the power of combining EEG and fMRI, together with hypothesis-driven stimulus designs, to untangle the spatiotemporal dynamics of object representations. 9/9

In conclusion, different dimensions related to animacy show very different representational dynamics, and some of them (in this case: animal taxonomy) reflect perceptual selectivity for faces vs bodies. 8/n

The same EEG study also revealed that the binary animacy distinction (animate vs inanimate) shows a slower, more sustained profile—emerging later and lasting longer. 7/n

🧠 Key finding: The representational dynamics of Face/body and taxonomy distinctions are very similar, with a peak around 150 ms after stimulus onset. 6/n

A prediction of this fmri study is that taxonomic selectivity should have a similar time course as selectivity for faces vs bodies. We tested this prediction using EEG, which offers high temporal resolution. 5/n

Previous fMRI work with Brendan Ritchie already suggested that what looks like a taxonomy effect might actually be driven by selectivity for faces vs bodies, and how similar animal faces and bodies are to humans. 4/n www.jneurosci.org/content/41/3...

First, the animacy distinction seems gradual rather than binary (‘taxonomic effects’: insects are less animate than mammals …). Second, it is unclear to which extent effects of animacy & taxonomy are driven by the known selectivity for faces and bodies and associated category-selective regions. 3/n

Several dimensions and distinctions characterize behavioral and neural representations of objects. The distinction between animate and inanimate objects seems particularly strong, but has proven difficult to understand. The new paper addresses two issues. 2/n

I came with my own money (Belgian & international fellowships), and during my stay I spent many tens of thousands of US dollars. I myself motivated and helped other researchers to do the same. This is an unbelievably stupid decision, with global and long-term consequences. 3/3

It will make bright researchers from other countries think twice before embarking on a US adventure. This is a major loss, in particular for USA. As I witnessed from within, US science benefited enormously from the presence of the international scholars. The economic gains were also substantial. 2/3