Visible Persistence of Single-Transient Random Dot Patterns: Spatial Parameters Affect the Duration of Fading Percepts

Abstract

Visible persistence refers to the continuation of visual perception after the physical termination of a stimulus. We studied an extreme case of visible persistence by presenting two matrices of randomly distributed black and white pixels in succession. On the transition from one matrix to the second, the luminance polarity of all pixels within a disk- or annulus-shaped area reversed, physically creating a single second-order transient signal. This transient signal produces the percept of a disk or an annulus with an abrupt onset and a gradual offset. To study the nature of this fading percept we varied spatial parameters, such as the inner and the outer diameter of annuli (Experiment I) and the radius and eccentricity of disks (Experiment III), and measured the duration of visible persistence by having subjects adjust the synchrony of the onset of a reference stimulus with the onset or the offset of the fading percept. We validated this method by comparing two modalities of the reference stimuli (Experiment I) and by comparing the judgments of fading percepts with the judgments of stimuli that actually fade in luminance contrast (Experiment II). The results show that (i) irrespective of the reference modality, participants are able to precisely judge the on- and the offsets of the fading percepts, (ii) auditory reference stimuli lead to higher visible persistence durations than visual ones, (iii) visible persistence duration increases with the thickness of annuli and the diameter of disks, but decreases with the diameter of annuli, irrespective of stimulus eccentricity. These effects cannot be explained by stimulus energy, which suggests that more complex processing mechanisms are involved. Seemingly contradictory effects of disk and annulus diameter can be unified by assuming an abstract filling-in mechanism that speeds up with the strength of the edge signal and takes more time the larger the stimulus area is.

Basic activity of Neurons in the dark during Somnolence induced by Anesthesia

“…if the stimuli include no attribute, integration is altered because the pathway of plasticity is disturbed. A target display to eyes, leaves a trace in the neuronal structures involved in memory [1,2]. In line with previous research, our findings confirm implication of orientation in the discharge of cells.…”

“…The recent evidence demonstrated that the visual system drives original information of an image, and the persistence of this trace on the neuronal memory is ensured by V1 [1]. The continuous effects of the stimuli are correlated with memorization, while trace remains in the cortical circuitry for few seconds [2]. The truth is, visual stimuli composed of many parameters, can affect the behaviour of cortical neurons.…”

Distinct effects of contour smoothness and observer bias on visual persistence

“…The duration of this type of contour persistence is typically 1–3 s, and contour visibility ends instantaneously when contour elements are physically removed (Ferber, Humphrey, & Vilis, 2003 , 2005 ; Large, Aldcroft, & Vilis, 2005 ; Strother et al, 2011 ; Strother, Lavell, & Vilis, 2012 ), consistent with offset-initiated reset and the prevention of contour “hallucination” in the absence of supporting visual input (Li, 1998 ). The duration of contour persistence is considerably longer than the neural persistence reported by O'Herron and von der Heydt ( 2009 , 2011 ) for figure–ground border-ownership signals in visual cortex (0–1.3 s), and it is also longer than any other type of shape-related visual persistence we are aware of (e.g., Bruchmann, Thaler, & Vorberg, 2015 ; Landman, Spekreijse, & Lamme, 2003 ; O'Herron & von der Heydt, 2011 ; Shioiri & Cavanagh, 1992 ; Supèr, Spekreijse, & Lamme, 2001 ; Wallis, Williams, & Arnold, 2009 ; Wutz, Weisz, Braun, & Melcher, 2014 ). The relatively long duration of contour persistence is remarkable in its own right, and may reflect the size of the underlying neural network (Compte, Brunel, Goldman-Rakic, & Wang, 2000 ; Toyoizumi, 2012 ).…”

Giacomo Balla: A Painter in the Context of Neuroscience

“…In fact, it was believed that “a retinal afterimage effect” or the controversial theory of the “persistence of vision,” erroneously also called “retinal persistence,” contributed to the concept of that visible persistence. Conversely, visible persistence is now considered a more complex cortical process underlying the continuation of visual perception after the physical termination of a stimulus (Bruchmann and others 2015).…”