Dataset Information

Heading perception depends on time-varying evolution of optic flow.

ABSTRACT: There is considerable support for the hypothesis that perception of heading in the presence of rotation is mediated by instantaneous optic flow. This hypothesis, however, has never been tested. We introduce a method, termed "nonvarying phase motion," for generating a stimulus that conveys a single instantaneous optic flow field, even though the stimulus is presented for an extended period of time. In this experiment, observers viewed stimulus videos and performed a forced-choice heading discrimination task. For nonvarying phase motion, observers made large errors in heading judgments. This suggests that instantaneous optic flow is insufficient for heading perception in the presence of rotation. These errors were mostly eliminated when the velocity of phase motion was varied over time to convey the evolving sequence of optic flow fields corresponding to a particular heading. This demonstrates that heading perception in the presence of rotation relies on the time-varying evolution of optic flow. We hypothesize that the visual system accurately computes heading, despite rotation, based on optic acceleration, the temporal derivative of optic flow.

SUBMITTER: Burlingham CS

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7776640 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Heading perception depends on time-varying evolution of optic flow.

Burlingham Charlie S CS Heeger David J DJ

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 20201216 52

There is considerable support for the hypothesis that perception of heading in the presence of rotation is mediated by instantaneous optic flow. This hypothesis, however, has never been tested. We introduce a method, termed "nonvarying phase motion," for generating a stimulus that conveys a single instantaneous optic flow field, even though the stimulus is presented for an extended period of time. In this experiment, observers viewed stimulus videos and performed a forced-choice heading discrimi ...[more]

PMID: 33328275

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Project description:Flying insects, such as flies or bees, rely on consistent information regarding the depth structure of the environment when performing their flight maneuvers in cluttered natural environments. These behaviors include avoiding collisions, approaching targets or spatial navigation. Insects are thought to obtain depth information visually from the retinal image displacements ("optic flow") during translational ego-motion. Optic flow in the insect visual system is processed by a mechanism that can be modeled by correlation-type elementary motion detectors (EMDs). However, it is still an open question how spatial information can be extracted reliably from the responses of the highly contrast- and pattern-dependent EMD responses, especially if the vast range of light intensities encountered in natural environments is taken into account. This question will be addressed here by systematically modeling the peripheral visual system of flies, including various adaptive mechanisms. Different model variants of the peripheral visual system were stimulated with image sequences that mimic the panoramic visual input during translational ego-motion in various natural environments, and the resulting peripheral signals were fed into an array of EMDs. We characterized the influence of each peripheral computational unit on the representation of spatial information in the EMD responses. Our model simulations reveal that information about the overall light level needs to be eliminated from the EMD input as is accomplished under light-adapted conditions in the insect peripheral visual system. The response characteristics of large monopolar cells (LMCs) resemble that of a band-pass filter, which reduces the contrast dependency of EMDs strongly, effectively enhancing the representation of the nearness of objects and, especially, of their contours. We furthermore show that local brightness adaptation of photoreceptors allows for spatial vision under a wide range of dynamic light conditions.

Dataset Information

Heading perception depends on time-varying evolution of optic flow.

Publications

Heading perception depends on time-varying evolution of optic flow.

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