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Directional organization and shape formation: new illusions and Helmholtz's Square.

ABSTRACT: According to Helmholtz's Square illusion, a square appears wider when it is filled with vertical lines and higher when filled with horizontal lines (Helmholtz von, 1866). Recently, Pinna (2010a) demonstrated that the grouping of small squares on the basis of the similarity principle influences also perception of their shape and of the whole emerging shapes. The direction imparted by grouping is the main attribute that influences the shape by polarizing it in the same direction both globally and locally. The rectangle illusion is opposite to what expected on the basis of Helmholtz's Square illusion. Aim of this work is to solve the antinomy between the two sets of illusions and to demonstrate a common explanation based on the interaction between different sources of directional organization. This was accomplished by introducing some new phenomena and through phenomenological experiments proving the role played by the directional shape organization in shape formation. According to our results, Helmholtz's square illusion shows at least two synergistic sources of directional organization: the direction of the grouping of the lines due to their similarity of the luminance contrast and the direction of the grouping of the lines due to the good continuation.

SUBMITTER: Pinna B

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4347453 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Directional organization and shape formation: new illusions and Helmholtz's Square.

Pinna Baingio B

Frontiers in human neuroscience 20150303

According to Helmholtz's Square illusion, a square appears wider when it is filled with vertical lines and higher when filled with horizontal lines (Helmholtz von, 1866). Recently, Pinna (2010a) demonstrated that the grouping of small squares on the basis of the similarity principle influences also perception of their shape and of the whole emerging shapes. The direction imparted by grouping is the main attribute that influences the shape by polarizing it in the same direction both globally and ...[more]

PMID: 25784870

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Project description:Swimming cells typically move along a helical path or undergo longitudinal rotation as they swim, arising from chiral asymmetry in hydrodynamic drag or propulsion bending the swimming path into a helix. Helical paths are beneficial for some forms of chemotaxis, but why asymmetric shape is so prevalent when a symmetric shape would also allow highly directional swimming is unclear. Here, I analyse the swimming of the insect life cycle stages of two human parasites; Trypanosoma brucei and Leishmania mexicana. This showed quantitatively how chirality in T. brucei cell shape confers highly directional swimming. High speed videomicrographs showed that T. brucei, L. mexicana and a T. brucei RNAi morphology mutant have a range of shape asymmetries, from wild-type T. brucei (highly chiral) to L. mexicana (near-axial symmetry). The chiral cells underwent longitudinal rotation while swimming, with more rapid longitudinal rotation correlating with swimming path directionality. Simulation indicated hydrodynamic drag on the chiral cell shape caused rotation, and the predicted geometry of the resulting swimming path matched the directionality of the observed swimming paths. This simulation of swimming path geometry showed that highly chiral cell shape is a robust mechanism through which microscale swimmers can achieve highly directional swimming at low Reynolds number. It is insensitive to random variation in shape or propulsion (biological noise). Highly symmetric cell shape can give highly directional swimming but is at risk of giving futile circular swimming paths in the presence of biological noise. This suggests the chiral T. brucei cell shape (associated with the lateral attachment of the flagellum) may be an adaptation associated with the bloodstream-inhabiting lifestyle of this parasite for robust highly directional swimming. It also provides a plausible general explanation for why swimming cells tend to have strong asymmetries in cell shape or propulsion.

Dataset Information

Directional organization and shape formation: new illusions and Helmholtz's Square.

Publications

Directional organization and shape formation: new illusions and Helmholtz's Square.

Similar Datasets

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