Dataset Information

Edge-region grouping in figure-ground organization and depth perception.

ABSTRACT: Edge-region grouping (ERG) is proposed as a unifying and previously unrecognized class of relational information that influences figure-ground organization and perceived depth across an edge. ERG occurs when the edge between two regions is differentially grouped with one region based on classic principles of similarity grouping. The ERG hypothesis predicts that the grouped side will tend to be perceived as the closer, figural region. Six experiments are reported that test the predictions of the ERG hypothesis for 6 similarity-based factors: common fate, blur similarity, color similarity, orientation similarity, proximity, and flicker synchrony. All 6 factors produce the predicted effects, although to different degrees. In a 7th experiment, the strengths of these figural/depth effects were found to correlate highly with the strength of explicit grouping ratings of the same visual displays. The relations of ERG to prior results in the literature are discussed, and possible reasons for ERG-based figural/depth effects are considered. We argue that grouping processes mediate at least some of the effects we report here, although ecological explanations are also likely to be relevant in the majority of cases.

SUBMITTER: Palmer SE

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2593880 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Edge-region grouping in figure-ground organization and depth perception.

Palmer Stephen E SE Brooks Joseph L JL

Journal of experimental psychology. Human perception and performance 20081201 6

Edge-region grouping (ERG) is proposed as a unifying and previously unrecognized class of relational information that influences figure-ground organization and perceived depth across an edge. ERG occurs when the edge between two regions is differentially grouped with one region based on classic principles of similarity grouping. The ERG hypothesis predicts that the grouped side will tend to be perceived as the closer, figural region. Six experiments are reported that test the predictions of the ...[more]

PMID: 19045980

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Project description:Segmentation of a natural scene into objects (figures) and background (ground) is one of crucial functions for object recognition and scene understanding. Recent studies have investigated neural mechanisms underlying figure-ground (FG) segregation and reported neural modulation to FG in the intermediate-level visual area, V4, of macaque monkeys (FG neurons). However, whether FG neurons contribute to the perception of FG segregation has not been clarified. To examine the contribution of FG neurons, we examined the correlations between perceptual consistency (PC), which quantified perceptual ambiguity in FG determination, and the reliability of neural signals in response to FG. First, we evaluated PCs for the images that were used in the previous neural recording in V4; specifically, we measured how consistently FG can be determined across trials and participants for each stimulus. The PCs were widely distributed, so that we identified the ambiguity in FG segregation for each stimulus. Next, we analyzed the correlation between the PCs and the reliability of neural modulation to FG. We found that the stimuli with higher PCs evoked more consistent and greater modulation in the responses of single neurons than those with lower PCs. Since perception is expected to show a greater correlation with responses of neural population compared to those of single neurons, we examined the correlation between the PCs and the consistency of the population responses in FG determination. Stimuli with higher PCs evoked higher population consistency than those with lower PCs. Finally, we analyzed the correlation between the PCs and neural latencies in FG modulation. We found that the stimuli with higher PCs showed shorter reaction times in FG perception and evoked shorter modulation latencies in FG neurons. These results indicate that the responses of FG neurons recorded from macaque monkeys show significant correlations with human FG perception, suggesting that V4 neurons with FG-dependent responses contribute to the perception of FG segregation.

Dataset Information

Edge-region grouping in figure-ground organization and depth perception.

Publications

Edge-region grouping in figure-ground organization and depth perception.

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