The Development of Object Recognition Requires Experience with the Surface Features of Objects

Simple Summary Understanding how brains work requires understanding the role of experience in the development of core mental abilities. Here, we show that the development of one core mental ability-object recognition-requires visual experience with the surface features of objects. We found that when newborn chicks were raised with objects containing surface features, the chicks learned to recognize objects across familiar and novel viewpoints. However, when chicks were raised with line drawings of those same objects, the chicks failed to develop object recognition. These findings shed light on the role of experience in early visual development and suggest that certain kinds of experiences are especially important for the development of core mental abilities.Abstract What role does visual experience play in the development of object recognition? Prior controlled-rearing studies suggest that newborn animals require slow and smooth visual experiences to develop object recognition. Here, we examined whether the development of object recognition also requires experience with the surface features of objects. We raised newborn chicks in automated controlled-rearing chambers that contained a single virtual object, then tested their ability to recognize that object from familiar and novel viewpoints. When chicks were reared with an object that had surface features, the chicks developed view-invariant object recognition. In contrast, when chicks were reared with a line drawing of an object, the chicks failed to develop object recognition. The chicks reared with line drawings performed at chance level, despite acquiring over 100 h of visual experience with the object. These results indicate that the development of object recognition requires experience with the surface features of objects.