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| Volume 4, Number 6, Article 4, Pages 445-458 |
doi:10.1167/4.6.4 |
http://journalofvision.org/4/6/4/ |
ISSN 1534-7362 |
Saccadic localization in the presence of cues to three-dimensional shape
Dhanraj Vishwanath |
Department of Psychology, Rutgers University,
Piscataway, NJ, USA |
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Eileen Kowler |
Department of Psychology, Rutgers University,
Piscataway, NJ, USA |
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Abstract
Saccades directed to simple two-dimensional (2D) target
shapes under instructions to look at the target as a whole land near the center
of gravity (COG) of the shape with a high degree of precision (He & Kowler,
1991; Kowler & Blaser, 1995; McGowan, Kowler, Sharma, & Chubb, 1998; Melcher & Kowler, 1999; Vishwanath, Kowler, & Feldman, 2000). This pattern of performance has
been attributed to the averaging of visual signals across the shape. Natural
objects, however, are three-dimensional (3D), and the shape of the object can
differ dramatically from its 2D retinal projection. This study examined saccadic
localization of computer-generated perspective images of 3D shapes. Targets were
made to appear either 2D or 3D by manipulating shading, context, and contour
cues. Average saccadic landing positions (SD
~ 10% eccentricity) fell at either the 2D or 3D COG, and occasionally in
between, depending on the nature of the 3D cues and the subject. The results
show that saccades directed to objects are not compelled to land at the 2D COG,
but can be sensitive to other visual cues, such as cues to 3D structure. One way
to account for these results, without abandoning the averaging mechanism that
has accounted well for performance with simple 2D shapes, is for saccadic
landing position to be computed based on averaging across a weighted
representation of the shape in which portions projected to be located at a
greater distance receive more weight.
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