ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Neurosci.
Sec. Perception Science
Volume 19 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fnins.2025.1599112
This article is part of the Research TopicExploring the Neural Mechanisms of Sensory-Cognitive Associations: Bridging Sensory Perception and Higher Cognitive FunctionsView all 4 articles
Neural Mechanisms of Symmetry Perception: Hemispheric Specialization and the Impact of Noise on Reflection Symmetry Detection
Provisionally accepted
- 1School of Artificial Intelligence, Changchun University of Science and Technology, Changchun, China
- 2Laboratory of Psychological Testing and Behavior Analysis, Liaoning University, Shenyang, China
- 3Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, China
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Symmetry is a crucial cue for perceptual grouping in human vision. This study investigates the neural and cognitive mechanisms underlying symmetry perception, focusing on hemispheric specialization and the effects of noise on symmetry detection. Using psychophysical and electrophysiological (EEG) experiments, participants were presented with reflection symmetric patterns (full circle vs. right-left quarter-circle), under varying noise levels. Behavioral results demonstrated noise-induced impairment in accuracy (p<0.001), with Cycle outperforming Quarter in noiseless conditions (p<0.05), highlighting the role of contour completeness in perceptual grouping. EEG recordings revealed distinct neural mechanisms associated with different stages of symmetry processing. Early sensory processing exhibited left-hemisphere dominance, while later stages implicated the right hemisphere in noise-modulated global integration. Noise disrupted early contour integration and attenuated higher-order object recognition processes, with right-hemisphere sensitivity to noise emerging during decision-making. These findings challenge the strong version of the callosal hypothesis, highlighting the complexity of hemispheric interactions in symmetry perception.This study provides new insights into the interplay between bottom-up sensory processing and top-down hemispheric interactions in perceptual organization.
Keywords: Symmetry perception1, Hemispheric specialization2, EEG3, Neural mechanisms4, Eventrelated potentials (ERPs)5
Received: 24 Mar 2025; Accepted: 25 Apr 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Wang, Yang, Yu, Wu and Wu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Fengxia Wu, School of Artificial Intelligence, Changchun University of Science and Technology, Changchun, China
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