Volume 8, Number 4, Article 6, Pages 1-10 doi:10.1167/8.4.6 http://journalofvision.org/8/4/6/ ISSN 1534-7362
Strong percepts of motion through depth without strong percepts of position in depth
Bas Rokers
Neurobiology, Center for Perceptual Systems, Institute for Neuroscience, & Imaging Research Center, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
[home] [e-mail]
Lawrence K. Cormack
Psychology, Center for Perceptual Systems, Institute for Neuroscience, & Imaging Research Center, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
[home] [e-mail]
Alexander C. Huk
Neurobiology, Psychology, Center for Perceptual Systems, Institute for Neuroscience, & Imaging Research Center, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
[home] [e-mail]
Abstract

Encoding the motion of objects through three spatial dimensions is a fundamental challenge for the visual system. Two binocular cues could contribute to the perception of motion through depth: changes in horizontal disparity (CD) and interocular velocity differences (IOVD). Although conceptually distinct, both cues are typically present when real objects move. Direct experimental isolation of the putative IOVD cue has remained elusive, and it is therefore unclear to what extent the visual system relies on it. We have found that binocularly anticorrelated stimuli impair position in depth judgments, but motion through depth judgments for the same stimuli are relatively unaffected. This dissociation of direction of motion from position in depth provides strong evidence that percepts of motion through depth are not based exclusively on estimating changes in disparity. Horizontal IOVDs appear to complement the CD cue. Vertical IOVDs fail to yield comparable performance, further implicating a comparison of horizontal interocular velocity and also ruling out explanations of our results based on monocular cues. These results suggest that (1) IOVDs are a robust cue to motion through depth; (2) IOVDs and retinal disparities exhibit similar horizontal/vertical anisotropies, consistent with the geometry of binocular viewing; and (3) binocular anticorrelation provides means to titrate the relative contributions of CD and IOVD cues.

View full-text

History
Received September 21, 2007; published April 15, 2008
Citation
Rokers, B., Cormack, L. K., & Huk, A. C. (2008). Strong percepts of motion through depth without strong percepts of position in depth. Journal of Vision, 8(4):6, 1-10, http://journalofvision.org/8/4/6/, doi:10.1167/8.4.6.
Keywords
motion, depth, disparity, stereomotion, anticorrelation
Downloads
231 Total; 0.336 /day (DemandFactor)
 
Search
for articles that cite this paper
for related articles by these authors
for papers that cite this paper
Get citation






jov