Pupil responses to high-level image content

The link between arousal and pupil dilation is well studied, but it is less known that other cognitive processes can trigger pupil responses. Here we present evidence that pupil responses can be induced by high-level scene processing, independent of changes in low-level features or arousal. In Experiment 1, we recorded changes in pupil diameter of observers while they viewed a variety of natural scenes with or without a sun that were presented either upright or inverted. Image inversion had the strongest effect on the pupil responses. The pupil constricted more to the onset of upright images as compared to inverted images. Furthermore, the amplitudes of pupil constrictions to viewing images containing a sun were larger relative to control images. In Experiment 2, we presented cartoon versions of upright and inverted pictures that included either a sun or a moon. The image backgrounds were kept identical across conditions. Similar to Experiment 1, upright images triggered pupil constrictions with larger amplitudes than inverted images and images of the sun evoked greater pupil contraction than images of the moon. We suggest that the modulations of pupil responses were due to higher-level interpretations of image content.