Orientation Discrimination for Moving Isoluminant and Luminance Targets

Perception ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 25 (1_suppl) ◽  
pp. 182-182
Author(s):  
S M Wuerger ◽  
M J Morgan
Keyword(s):  
Standard Deviation ◽  
Spatial Frequency ◽  
Psychometric Function ◽  
Carrier Frequency ◽  
Spatial Vision ◽  
Orientation Discrimination ◽  
Moving Target ◽  
Binary Decision ◽  
Gabor Function

Last year we presented orientation discrimination thresholds for stationary isoluminant red — green and luminance-defined stimuli as a function of spatial frequency and contrast (Wuerger and Morgan, 1995 Perception24 Supplement, 16). The horizontal profile of the stimuli was a Gabor function with a carrier frequency of either 0, 2, or 4 cycles deg−1. Observers made a binary decision (clockwise versus anticlockwise from vertical) and thresholds were defined as the standard deviation of their psychometric function. One main finding was that for carrier frequencies of 2 and 4 cycles deg−1, when stimuli of equal cone contrast are compared, orientation discrimination thresholds for red — green isoluminant stimuli do not differ significantly from the thresholds for luminance-defined stimuli. To further characterise the chromatic mechanisms involved in spatial vision, we assessed orientation discrimination thresholds for isoluminant red — green and luminance-defined Gabor stimuli as a function of the velocity of the moving target. When velocity is increased, orientation discrimination thresholds for isoluminant targets increase more rapidly than the thresholds for luminance targets of identical cone contrasts. We conclude that orientation discrimination is mediated by different chromatic mechanisms with different spatial and temporal sensitivities.

Comparison at a Distance

Perception ◽  
10.1068/p3393 ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 395-414 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marina V Danilova ◽  
John D Mollon
Keyword(s):  
Visual Field ◽  
Spatial Frequency ◽  
Visual System ◽  
Spatial Separation ◽  
Orientation Discrimination ◽  
Human Observer ◽  
Systematic Effect ◽  
Trained Subjects ◽  
Stimulus Attribute ◽  
The Subject

The visual system is known to contain hard-wired mechanisms that compare the values of a given stimulus attribute at adjacent positions in the visual field; but how are comparisons performed when the stimuli are not adjacent? We ask empirically how well a human observer can compare two stimuli that are separated in the visual field. For the stimulus attributes of spatial frequency, contrast, and orientation, we have measured discrimination thresholds as a function of the spatial separation of the discriminanda. The three attributes were studied in separate experiments, but in all cases the target stimuli were briefly presented Gabor patches. The Gabor patches lay on an imaginary circle, which was centred on the fixation point and had a radius of 5 deg of visual angle. Our psychophysical procedures were designed to ensure that the subject actively compared the two stimuli on each presentation, rather than referring just one stimulus to a stored template or criterion. For the cases of spatial frequency and contrast, there was no systematic effect of spatial separation up to 10 deg. We conclude that the subject's judgment does not depend on discontinuity detectors in the early visual system but on more central codes that represent the two stimuli individually. In the case of orientation discrimination, two naïve subjects performed as in the cases of spatial frequency and contrast; but two highly trained subjects showed a systematic increase of threshold with spatial separation, suggesting that they were exploiting a distal mechanism designed to detect the parallelism or non-parallelism of contours.

Speed Discrimination in Luminance and Colour Stimuli as a Function of Contrast

Perception ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 26 (1_suppl) ◽  
pp. 49-49
Author(s):  
S M Wuerger ◽  
A H Morgan
Keyword(s):  
Carrier Frequency ◽  
Standard Stimulus ◽  
Consistent Difference ◽  
Adaptive Procedure ◽  
Gabor Function ◽  
Moving Stimulus ◽  
Measured Speed ◽  
Speed Discrimination ◽  
Luminance Stimulus ◽  
Perceived Speed

We measured speed discrimination for isoluminant red - green and luminance-defined moving stimuli. The horizontal profile of the stimuli was a Gabor function with a carrier frequency of 2 cycles deg−1. The standard stimulus was a luminance stimulus with a fixed speed of 2 deg s−1 and a fixed contrast of 0.1. The comparison stimuli were either luminance stimuli (cone contrasts: 0.05, 0.1, 0.2, 0.4) or chromatic stimuli (cone contrasts: 0.025, 0.05, 0.1). The speed of the comparison stimuli was varied by an adaptive procedure. After each trial the observer indicated which of the 2 intervals contained the slower moving stimulus. The stimuli always moved horizontally and the direction was chosen randomly at each trial. The main findings were: (i) For luminance stimuli, the perceived speed was independent of contrast (ranging from 0.1 to 0.4). For colour stimuli, the perceived speed increased with contrast for two out of four observers. (ii) The sensitivity for speed discrimination was independent of contrast for luminance and for colour stimuli. (iii) There was no consistent difference in speed discrimination sensitivity between colour and luminance stimuli when the stimuli were equated in cone contrast.

Sounds prevent selective monitoring of high spatial frequency channels in vision

2012 ◽  
Vol 25 (0) ◽  
pp. 40
Author(s):  
Alexis Pérez-Bellido ◽  
Joan López-Moliner ◽  
Salvador Soto-Faraco
Keyword(s):  
Standard Deviation ◽  
Spatial Frequency ◽  
Visual Processing ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
High Spatial Frequency ◽  
Visual Signals ◽  
Sensory Interactions ◽  
Multisensory Interactions ◽  
Visual Targets ◽  
Selective Monitoring

Prior knowledge about the spatial frequency (SF) of upcoming visual targets (Gabor patches) speeds up average reaction times and decreases standard deviation. This has often been regarded as evidence for a multichannel processing of SF in vision. Multisensory research, on the other hand, has often reported the existence of sensory interactions between auditory and visual signals. These interactions result in enhancements in visual processing, leading to lower sensory thresholds and/or more precise visual estimates. However, little is known about how multisensory interactions may affect the uncertainty regarding visual SF. We conducted a reaction time study in which we manipulated the uncertanty about SF (SF was blocked or interleaved across trials) of visual targets, and compared visual only versus audio–visual presentations. Surprisingly, the analysis of the reaction times and their standard deviation revealed an impairment of the selective monitoring of the SF channel by the presence of a concurrent sound. Moreover, this impairment was especially pronounced when the relevant channels were high SFs at high visual contrasts. We propose that an accessory sound automatically favours visual processing of low SFs through the magnocellular channels, thereby detracting from the potential benefits from tuning into high SF psychophysical-channels.

How Reliable is the Pattern Adaptation Technique? A Modeling Study

2009 ◽  
Vol 102 (4) ◽  
pp. 2245-2252 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jay Hegdé
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Frequency ◽  
Frequency Tuning ◽  
Spatial Vision ◽  
Neural Mechanisms ◽  
System Level ◽  
Sinusoidal Grating ◽  
Tuning Parameters ◽  
Neuronal Ensemble ◽  
Spatial Frequency Tuning ◽  
Spatial Frequencies

Upon prolonged viewing of a sinusoidal grating, the visual system is selectively desensitized to the spatial frequency of the grating, while the sensitivity to other spatial frequencies remains largely unaffected. This technique, known as pattern adaptation, has been so central to the psychophysical study of the mechanisms of spatial vision that it is sometimes referred to as the “psychologist's microelectrode.” While this approach implicitly assumes that the adaptation behavior of the system is diagnostic of the corresponding underlying neural mechanisms, this assumption has never been explicitly tested. We tested this assumption using adaptation bandwidth, or the range of spatial frequencies affected by adaptation, as a representative measure of adaptation. We constructed an intentionally simple neuronal ensemble model of spatial frequency processing and examined the extent to which the adaptation bandwidth at the system level reflected the bandwidth at the neuronal level. We find that the adaptation bandwidth could vary widely even when all spatial frequency tuning parameters were held constant. Conversely, different spatial frequency tuning parameters were able to elicit similar adaptation bandwidths from the neuronal ensemble. Thus, the tuning properties of the underlying units did not reliably reflect the adaptation bandwidth at the system level, and vice versa. Furthermore, depending on the noisiness of adaptation at the neural level, the same neuronal ensemble was able to produce selective or nonselective adaptation at the system level, indicating that a lack of selective adaptation at the system level cannot be taken to mean a lack of tuned mechanisms at the neural level. Together, our results indicate that pattern adaptation cannot be used to reliably estimate the tuning properties of the underlying units, and imply, more generally, that pattern adaptation is not a reliable tool for studying the neural mechanisms of pattern analysis.

The Combination of Filters in Early Spatial Vision: A Retrospective Analysis of the Mirage Model

Perception ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 26 (9) ◽  
pp. 1073-1088 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael J Morgan ◽  
Roger J Watt
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Frequency ◽  
Visual System ◽  
Retrospective Analysis ◽  
Alternative Model ◽  
Pattern Analysis ◽  
Spatial Vision ◽  
Half Wave ◽  
Pattern Encoding

Since the discovery of spatial-frequency-tuned channels in the visual system, most theories attempting to account for pattern encoding have assumed that the filters can be independently accessed and flexibly combined. We review here an alternative model, ‘MIRAGE’, in which the filters are inflexibly combined before pattern analysis. In the MIRAGE model the half-wave rectified outputs of all spatial-frequency channels are combined before locating spatial zero-bounded regions in the neural image, which serve as the spatial primitives for pattern analysis. We describe the evidence that led to this model, and review recent evidence on the rules of filter combination.

scholarly journals Lateral interactions in orientation discrimination: Spatial frequency bandwidths

2004 ◽  
Vol 4 (8) ◽  
pp. 776-776
Author(s):  
L. A. Olzak ◽  
S. H. Gabree ◽  
P. I. Laurinen
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Frequency ◽  
Orientation Discrimination ◽  
Lateral Interactions

scholarly journals Analysis of the Spatial-Frequency Characteristics of the Photo-Assisted Method of a Quartz Rough Surface Nano-Polishing

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Vasyl Kanevskii ◽  
Serhii Kolienov ◽  
Valerii Grygoruk ◽  
Oleksandr Stelmakh ◽  
Hao Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Standard Deviation ◽  
Spatial Frequency ◽  
Rough Surface ◽  
Spatial Spectrum ◽  
Frequency Characteristics ◽  
Process Conditions ◽  
Quartz Surface ◽  
Gaussian Form ◽  
Maximum Slope ◽  
Profile Height

The relationship between the spatial-frequency parameters of a rough surface with a random profile, which has a Gaussian form of the correlation function, and the amplitude-frequency characteristics of the electric field created by this surface is determined. The numerical determination of the evanescent field optimal configuration formed near the quartz rough surface in the gaseous medium saturated with chlorine molecules when illuminated from the quartz side has been considered. The finite-element approach is used to solve the Helmholtz two-dimensional vector equation. It was found that at the initial stage of photochemical polishing different electrodynamic conditions are created for the etching process depending on the profile height standard deviation value. In particular, when the standard deviation is less than 1 nm, all surface protrusions, for which the spatial spectrum harmonics of the profile are located in the region of the maximum slope of the spectral function, are most actively etched. This leads to a decrease in the effective width of the spatial spectrum of a rough quartz surface and an increase in its correlation length. Therefore, simultaneously with decreasing the height of the protrusions, the surface becomes flatter. The paper shows the different character of quartz surface nano-polishing process conditions depending on the initial standard deviation of the profile height.

scholarly journals Temporal Characteristics of Visual Processing in Amblyopia

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xia Hu ◽  
Yi Qin ◽  
Xiaoxiao Ying ◽  
Junli Yuan ◽  
Rong Cui ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Temporal Processing ◽  
Visual Processing ◽  
Spatial Vision ◽  
Stimulus Onset ◽  
Orientation Discrimination ◽  
Temporal Window ◽  
Significant Group ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Temporal Vision ◽  
Vision Deficits

PurposeAmblyopia affects not only spatial vision but also temporal vision. In this study, we aim to investigate temporal processing deficits in amblyopia.MethodsTwenty amblyopic patients (age: 27.0 ± 5.53 years, 15 males), and 25 normal observers (age: 25.6 ± 4.03 years, 15 males) were recruited in this study. Contrast thresholds in an orientation discrimination task in five target-mask stimulus onset asynchronies (SOA) conditions (16.7 ms, 33.4 ms, 50.0 ms, 83.4 ms, and ∞/no noise) were measured. An elaborated perceptual template model (ePTM) was fit to the behavioral data to derive the temporal profile of visual processing for each participant.ResultsThere were significant threshold differences between the amblyopic and normal eyes [F(1,43) = 10.6, p = 0.002] and a significant group × SOA interaction [F(2.75,118) = 4.98, p = 0.004], suggesting different temporal processing between the two groups. The ePTM fitted the data well (χ2 test, all ps > 0.50). Compared to the normal eye, the amblyopic eye had a lower template gain (p = 0.046), and a temporal window with lower peak and broader width (all ps < 0.05). No significant correlation was found between the observed temporal deficits and visual acuity in amblyopia (ps > 0.50). Similar results were found in the anisometropic amblyopia subgroup. No significant difference was found between the fellow eyes of the monocular amblyopia and the normal eyes.ConclusionAmblyopia is less efficient in processing dynamic visual stimuli. The temporal deficits in amblyopia, represented by a flattened temporal window, are likely independent of spatial vision deficits.

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