The visible persistence of stimuli in stroboscopic motion

Farrell, Joyce E.; Pavel, Misha; Sperling, George

doi:10.1016/0042-6989(90)90058-s

Cited by 46 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…This finding suggested that motion-detection mechanisms were not critical for deblurring moving stimuli, and that lateral inhibition interacting across space and time inhibited persisting representations of past stimuli. Farrell, Pavel, and Sperling (1990) showed similar results using stimuli that moved in apparent motion. They also developed a descriptive model of visual persistence that outlined how lateral inhibition from a new stimulus affects the decay of old stimulus representations.…”

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confidence: 53%

Cortical dynamics of lateral inhibition: Visual persistence and ISI

Francis

1996

Perception & Psychophysics

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Psychophysical studies show that increasing the interstimulus interval (lSI) between two stimuli decreases persistence of the first stimulus. Whilesome researchers account for these results with interactions of transient and sustained inhibition, this paper describes an alternative explanation. In a neural-network model of boundary detection called the boundary contour system, persistence is the result of feedback-generated reverberations. Mechanisms to control these reverberations include lateral inhibition, which computer simulations show allows persistence in the network to qualitatively match the psychophysicaldata. Additionalsimulations predict that increasing the duration of the second stimulus should cause persistence to increase with lSI. The model links psychophysical data on visual persistence with computational requirements of spatial vision and properties of cells in visual cortex. Burr (1980) observed that moving stimuli were not as blurred as would be expected. Studies of visual persistence show that stimuli persist for hundreds of milliseconds (e.g., Bowen, Pola, & Matin, 1974), which would produce substantial blurring of moving stimuli. However, Burr suggested that mechanisms responsible for detecting motion inhibited persisting representations ofa stimulus to deblur the moving percept. Di Lollo and Hogben (1987) found an inverse proximity effect, where nearby stimuli that were spatially close and temporally contiguous reduced the persistence of nonmoving stimuli. This finding suggested that motion-detection mechanisms were not critical for deblurring moving stimuli, and that lateral inhibition interacting across space and time inhibited persisting representations of past stimuli. Farrell, Pavel, and Sperling (1990) showed similar results using stimuli that moved in apparent motion. They also developed a descriptive model of visual persistence that outlined how lateral inhibition from a new stimulus affects the decay of old stimulus representations. In this model, persistence is the result ofa fading trace, and lateral inhibition decreases the strength of the trace so that it more quickly decays below a constant threshold.While the idea of persistence as a fading trace is intuitively appealing, the mechanisms underlying the trace and their interaction with mechanisms oflateral inhibition appear to be more complicated than the Farrell et al. (1990) description. Di Lollo andHogben (1987) found that the effects of nearby stimuli were stronger with longer stimulus onset asynchronies (SOAs), and Castet (1994), using a method very similar to Farrell et al.'s, demonstrated that persistence ofa leading stimulus decreases as Correspondence should be addressed to the author at Department of Psychological Sciences, 1364 Psychological Science Building, Purdue University, West Layfayette, IN 47907-1364 (e-mail: gfrancis@psych. purdue.edu). the interstimulus interval (lSI) between it and a trailing stimulus increases. Figure la shows data for 2 subjects from Castet. Farrell et al.'s model did not consider the...

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confidence: 53%

Cortical dynamics of lateral inhibition: Visual persistence and ISI

Francis

1996

Perception & Psychophysics

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“…Figure 4a from Farrell,Pavd,81. Sperling (1990) shows that the influence of a rnask on the pm·sistence of a target deperHls on the spatial distance between the stirnuli, with closer masks decreasing the persistence of the target. Other studies (Farrell, 1984; DiLollo 81.…”

Section: Pamdo:cicai Incrcasc Of J!ctsisicncc Of Iitusory Conlonrsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cortical dynamics of feature binding and reset: Control of visual persistence

1994

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“…Francis, Grossberg, and Mingolla (1994) quantitatively sirnulatcd the BC:S model and showed that a key process governing the persistence of visual percepts is the tirne taken to reset a segrnentation. 'fhis analysis explained characteristics of illusory contour persistence (Meyer and Ming, 1988), effects of orientation-specific adaptation (Meyer, Lawson, and Cohen, 1975), spatial rnasking (Farrell, Pavel, and Sperling, 1990), and inverse relationships between persistence and stimulus lUJninance and duration (Bowen,Pola,and !Vlatin,1.974). Francis (1994) simulated the rnoclcl to explain relationships between persistence and interstimulus intervals of rnasking stirnuli (Castet,199·1).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cortical Dynamics of Boundary Segmentation and Reset: Persistence, Afterimages, and Residual Traces

Francis

Grossberg

1996

Perception

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In previous work with a neural-network model of boundary segmentation and reset, the percept of persistence was linked to the duration of a boundary segmentation after stimulus offset. In particular, the model simulated the decrease of persistence duration with an increase in stimulus duration and luminance. Further evidence is revealed for the neural mechanisms involved in the theory. Simulations show that the model reset signals generate orientational afterimages, such as the MacKay effect, when the reset signals can be grouped by a subsequent boundary segmentation that generates illusory contours through them. Simulations also show that the same mechanisms explain properties of residual traces, which increase in duration with stimulus duration and luminance. The model hereby discloses previously unsuspected mechanistic links between data about persistence and afterimages, and helps to clarify the sometimes controversial issues surrounding distinctions between persistence, residual traces, and afterimages.

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The visible persistence of stimuli in stroboscopic motion

Cited by 46 publications

References 21 publications

Cortical dynamics of lateral inhibition: Visual persistence and ISI

Cortical dynamics of lateral inhibition: Visual persistence and ISI

Cortical dynamics of feature binding and reset: Control of visual persistence

Cortical Dynamics of Boundary Segmentation and Reset: Persistence, Afterimages, and Residual Traces

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