About

Daniel Kersten is a Professor of Psychology at the University of Minnesota, affiliated with the College of Liberal Arts. His research focuses on understanding visual perception as a process of statistical inference that transforms high-dimensional, ambiguous image data into reliable estimates of object properties such as size and shape. His work explores how the human brain translates the complex, dynamically changing retinal input into useful actions and perceptions, often without conscious thought. Kersten's research aims to uncover the neurobiological mechanisms underlying vision, including how cortical neurons process visual information across several visual brain areas, and how perception involves resolving ambiguity through mechanisms like top-down and bottom-up processing. He holds a Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology from the University of Minnesota and has a strong background in mathematics, with both an M.S. and a B.S. from the same institution and MIT, respectively. His contributions extend to the fields of computational vision, neural networks, and cognitive science, with numerous publications that investigate visual object recognition, surface material perception, and the neural basis of visual illusions. Kersten has served on various editorial and advisory panels, including the Vision Research journal and the NSF Frontiers in Computer Vision, and has been involved in research projects supported by institutions such as the NIH and ONR. His courses include topics in neural networks and computational vision, reflecting his expertise in the intersection of neuroscience, psychology, and computational modeling.

Research topics

• Computer science
• Artificial intelligence
• Computer vision
• Psychology
• Mathematics

Selected publications

• 26-CCC-7709-ACC WHEN FAT MEETS FIRE: SUSTAINED VENTRICULAR TACHYCARDIA FROM A GIANT PERICARDIAL LIPOMA

  Journal of the American College of Cardiology · 2026-03-27

  article1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG)

  Contemporary cardiology · 2025-01-01

  book-chapter1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Valve Repair and Replacement

  Contemporary cardiology · 2025-01-01

  book-chapter1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Heart Assist Devices, Artificial Hearts, and Heart Transplantation Surgery

  Contemporary cardiology · 2025-01-01

  book-chapter1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• The effect of illumination on the visibility of steps and ramps for people with low vision

  Optometry and Vision Science · 2024-06-01 · 20 citations

  articleOpen access

  SIGNIFICANCE: Poor visibility of indoor features such as steps and ramps can pose mobility hazards for people with low vision. For purposes of architectural design, it is important to understand how design parameters such as the illumination level of an indoor space affect the visibility of steps and ramps. PURPOSE: This study was aimed to examine the effect of typical variation in photopic illumination level in an indoor space on the visibility of steps and ramps for individuals with low vision. METHODS: Steps and ramps were constructed in a large windowless room illuminated by overhead lights. Subjects with low vision completed a 5-alternative forced choice task to recognize the targets at three levels of photopic illumination, i.e., 800, 80, and 8 lux, and gave confidence ratings about their judgments on a 5-point scale. Acuities and contrast sensitivities of the subjects were also measured at each illumination level. For comparison, a group of normally sighted subjects with simulated acuity reduction also completed the step-and-ramp recognition task. RESULTS: For both groups of subjects, recognition accuracy was not affected by illumination level. For subjects with low vision, however, there was a significant effect of illumination level on confidence rating: subjects became more confident about their judgments with increasing illumination. There was also a weak effect of illumination level on acuity and contrast sensitivity, both worsening with decreasing illumination. Recognition performance was best predicted by contrast sensitivity, whereas confidence was best predicted by visual acuity. CONCLUSIONS: Illumination variation over a typical photopic range in an indoor space had minimal effect on the objective visibility of steps and ramps for people with low vision. However, illumination level affected subjects' confidence in hazard recognition. Design decisions on parameters such as illumination should consider the consequences on both the objective and the subjective accessibility of a space.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Relative depth discrimination in natural images of paired human body joints

  Journal of Vision · 2024-09-15

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Humans have the ability to perceive three-dimensional depth from a two-dimensional image plane. An illustrative example is the ability of humans to recognize body pose and extrapolate the three-dimensional spatial arrangement of joints given a human body image. While past studies have indicated that the internal representation of the human figure can sometimes impose constraints on the depth discrimination of static stimuli, the precise integration of local and structural information among body parts for inferring depth remains unclear. Here we investigated human ability to identify relative depth between pairs of body parts given limited spatial context from natural images. In the experiment, 20 observers viewed a series of pairs of body parts, each recognizable above chance, and displayed through a circular aperture. Observers were then asked to identify which part was closer to them. The manipulation of structural information involved varying the spatial relationship (retained/original position and disrupted/side by side) and different types of body pairs (same side and cross side). Each condition comprised 100 trials, with images sourced from the Leeds Sports Dataset. The performance of human depth perception was evaluated against the ground truth established by the Unite the People dataset. We found that retained spatial relations significantly enhance the discrimination of relative depth between body parts compared to disrupted spatial relations. Furthermore, the accuracy in depth discrimination was higher in elbow-elbow pairs compared to elbow-wrist pairs. Additionally, an investigation into how Euclidean distance between parts could influence depth discrimination revealed that, in contrast to elbow-elbow pairs, a closer distance between the wrist and elbow resulted in heightened accuracy, suggesting a potential grouping mechanism between adjacent parts. Our study underscores that humans efficiently employ both structural knowledge and low-/mid-level grouping cues to infer depth information given limited spatial context.

  PublisherDOI

• Natural scenes reveal diverse representations of 2D and 3D body pose in the human brain

  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · 2024-06-03 · 2 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Human pose, defined as the spatial relationships between body parts, carries instrumental information supporting the understanding of motion and action of a person. A substantial body of previous work has identified cortical areas responsive to images of bodies and different body parts. However, the neural basis underlying the visual perception of body part relationships has received less attention. To broaden our understanding of body perception, we analyzed high-resolution fMRI responses to a wide range of poses from over 4,000 complex natural scenes. Using ground-truth annotations and an application of three-dimensional (3D) pose reconstruction algorithms, we compared similarity patterns of cortical activity with similarity patterns built from human pose models with different levels of depth availability and viewpoint dependency. Targeting the challenge of explaining variance in complex natural image responses with interpretable models, we achieved statistically significant correlations between pose models and cortical activity patterns (though performance levels are substantially lower than the noise ceiling). We found that the 3D view-independent pose model, compared with two-dimensional models, better captures the activation from distinct cortical areas, including the right posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS). These areas, together with other pose-selective regions in the LOTC, form a broader, distributed cortical network with greater view-tolerance in more anterior patches. We interpret these findings in light of the computational complexity of natural body images, the wide range of visual tasks supported by pose structures, and possible shared principles for view-invariant processing between articulated objects and ordinary, rigid objects.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Integrating Impaired Vision and Hearing to Improve Spatial Localization

  Journal of Vision · 2024-09-15

  articleOpen access

  Introduction. Spatial localization, which is critical for safe mobility and social interactions, relies heavily on vision and hearing. When vision and/or hearing impairment occurs, integrating vision and hearing may maximize the use of the residual senses. However, such impairment is often associated with degraded sensory input and unstable sensory status, which may influence the integration process. Here we investigated the integration of vision and hearing in a spatial localization task in individuals with heterogeneous vision and hearing impairment. Methods. Eighty-five participants completed a spatial localization task: 36 younger and 13 older controls with normal vision and hearing, 10 with hearing impairment only, 13 with vision impairment only, and 13 with dual vision and hearing impairment. Participants verbally reported the directions of visual (200ms, 3 deg diameter, 90% contrast target), auditory (200ms, pink noise with 200-8000 Hz, 60 dB Hearing Level), or audiovisual targets (simultaneous from the same location) across 17 locations spanning 180 degrees in the horizontal plane. Spatial biases (offsets) and uncertainties (variability) were obtained for each location in each condition. Results. Vision and hearing impairments were each associated with increased biases and uncertainties in unimodal localization, resulting in large variations across locations and individuals. To reconcile these variations, we identified individualized integration zones and segregation zones based on whether the audiovisual discrepancies support a common cause inference. Across all locations, people with sensory impairment, especially those with dual sensory impairment, showed less integration zones than controls. However, the benefit of integration (reduced uncertainty in the bimodal condition) in the integration zones, or lack thereof in the segregation zones, were consistent across all groups. Conclusion. Impairments in vision and hearing reduce the likelihood of making a common cause inference while localizing a bimodal target. However, the advantage of integration persists when the criteria for a common cause are satisfied.

  PublisherDOI

• General lighting can overcome accidental viewing

  i-Perception · 2023-11-01 · 8 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding

  When seeing an object in a scene, the presumption of seeing that object from a general viewpoint (as opposed to an accidental viewpoint) is a useful heuristic to decide which of many interpretations of this object is correct. Similar heuristic assumptions on illumination quality might also be used for scene interpretation. Here we tested that assumption and asked if illumination information helps determine object properties when seen from an accidental viewpoint. Test objects were placed on a flat surface and illumination was varied while keeping the objects' images constant. Observers judged the shape or rigidity of static or moving simple objects presented in accidental view. They also chose which of two seemingly very similar faces was familiar. We found: (1) Objects might appear flat without shadow information but were perceived to be volumetric objects or non-planar in the presence of cast shadows. (2) Apparently non-rigid objects became rigid with shadow information. (3) Shading and shadows helped to infer which of two face was the familiar one. Previous results had shown that cast shadows help determine spatial layout of objects. Our study shows that other properties of objects like rigidity or 3D-shape can be disambiguated by shadow information.

  PublisherDOI

• Estimating lighting direction in scenes with multiple objects

  Attention Perception & Psychophysics · 2023-08-01 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access

  To recover the reflectance and shape of an object in a scene, the human visual system must account for the properties of the light illuminating the object. Here, we examine the extent to which multiple objects within a scene are utilised to estimate the direction of lighting in a scene. In Experiment 1, we presented participants with rendered scenes that contained 1, 9, or 25 unfamiliar blob-like objects and measured their capacity to discriminate whether a directional light source was left or right of the participants' vantage point. Trends reported for ensemble perception suggest that the number of utilised objects-and, consequently, discrimination sensitivity-would increase with set size. However, we find little indication that increasing the number of objects in a scene increased discrimination sensitivity. In Experiment 2, an equivalent noise analysis was used to measure participants' internal noise and the number of objects used to judge the average light source direction in a scene, finding that participants relied on 1 or 2 objects to make their judgement regardless of whether 9 or 25 objects were present. In Experiment 3, participants completed a shape identification task that required an implicit judgement of light source direction, rather than an explicit judgement as in Experiments 1 and 2. We find that sensitivity for identifying surface shape was comparable for scenes containing 1, 9, and 25 objects. Our results suggest that the visual system relied on a small number of objects to estimate the direction of lighting in our rendered scenes.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Recent grants

• NIH Grant T32HD007151

  NIH · $7.5M · 2014

• Efficiency of Human Vision

  NSF · $175k · 1991–1996

• NIH Grant R01EY015261

  NIH · $2.2M · 2012

• NIH Grant R01EY011507

  NIH · $418k · 2001

Frequent coauthors

• Paul Schrater

  38 shared

• HH Bülthoff

  Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics

  37 shared

• David C. Knill

  University of Rochester

  33 shared

• Gordon E. Legge

  University of Minnesota

  32 shared

• Pascal Mamassian

  École Normale Supérieure

  30 shared

• Cheryl A. Olman

  University of Minnesota

  28 shared

• Scott O. Murray

  University of Washington

  26 shared

• Damien J. Mannion

  21 shared

Labs

• Computational Vision LabPI

Education

• Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine

  New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine

  2021

• Bachelor of Arts , History

  Binghamton University

  2016

Awards & honors

• National Institute of Health Award