An illusion induced by an illusion -perceptual filling-in of coloured negative afterimages

Visual filling-in relates to a perceptual phenomenon in which a stimulus pattern apparently undergoes dynamic changes assuming an attribute such as colour, texture, or brightness from the surround. This perceptual completion effect has up to now been shown only for real images. Here, we present filling-in in negative afterimages, a phenomenon not yet reported. Using coloured disk-ring patterns for stimuli, we demonstrate that afterimage filling-in arises independently, and is not simply a replica of filling-in observed in real images. Such filling-in does not occur when the afterimage is elicited dichoptically, suggesting its emergence within the monocular visual pathway. In this way, our findings indicate that filling-in under certain conditions may derive from an active neural mechanism located at low levels of the visual pathway

Detection vs. grouping thresholds for elements differing in spacing, size and luminance. An alternative approach towards the psychophysics of Gestalten

AbstractThree experiments were performed to compare thresholds for the detection of non-uniformity in spacing, size and luminance with thresholds for grouping. In the first experiment a row of 12 black equi-spaced dots was used and the spacing after the 3rd, 6th, and 9th dot increased in random steps to determine the threshold at which the observer detected an irregularity in the size of the gaps. Thereafter, spacing in the same locations was increased further to find the threshold at which the observer perceived four groups of three dots each (triplets). In the second experiment, empty circles were used instead of dots and the diameter of the circles in the first and second triplet increased until the difference in size gave rise either to a detection or grouping response. In the third experiment, the dots in the second and fourth triplet were increased in luminance. The aim again was to compare the difference in brightness required for detection or grouping, respectively. Results demonstrate that the threshold for perceiving stimuli as irregularly spaced or dissimilar in size or brightness is much smaller than the threshold for grouping. In order to perceive stimuli as grouped, stimulus differences had to be 5.2 times (for dot spacing), 7.4 times (for size) and 6.6 times (for luminance) larger than for detection. Two control experiments demonstrated that the difference between the two kinds of thresholds persisted even when only two gaps were used instead of three and when gap position was randomized

Neon color spreading in dynamic displays: temporal factors.

When a red star is placed in the middle of an Ehrenstein figure so as to be collinear with the surrounding black rays, a reddish veil is perceived to fill the white center. This is called neon color spreading. To better understand the processes that give rise to this phenomenon, we studied the temporal properties of the effect. Specifically, we presented a "sustained" black Ehrenstein figure (rays) for 600 ms and a "transient" red star for 48 ms, or the converse pattern, at various stimulus onset asynchronies (-100-700 ms) and asked subjects to compare the strength of the neon color in the test stimulus to that of a reference pattern in which the transient star had an onset asynchrony of 300 ms. Additional exposure durations of 24 and 96 ms were used for each transient stimulus in order to study the effect of temporal integration. Simultaneity of the on- and off-transients of the star and the Ehrenstein rays were found to optimize neon color spreading, especially when both stimuli terminated together. Longer exposure durations of the transient stimulus up to 96 ms further improved the effect. Neon color spreading was much reduced when the transient stimulus was presented soon after the beginning of the sustained stimulus, with a gradual build-up towards the end. These results emphasize the importance of stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) and stimulus termination asynchrony (STA) for the perception of neon color spreading

Beyond the classic receptive field: the effect of contextual stimuli

Following the pioneering studies of the receptive field (RF), the concept gained further significance for visual perception by the discovery of input effects from beyond the classical RF. These studies demonstrated that neuronal responses could be modulated by stimuli outside their RFs, consistent with the perception of induced brightness, color, orientation, and motion. Lesion scotomata are similarly modulated perceptually from the surround by RFs that have migrated from the interior to the outer edge of the scotoma and in this way provide filling-in of the void. Large RFs are advantageous to this task. In higher visual areas, such as the middle temporal and inferotemporal lobe, RFs increase in size and lose most of their retinotopic organization while encoding increasingly complex features. Whereas lowerlevel RFs mediate perceptual filling-in, contour integration, and figure–ground segregation, RFs at higher levels serve the perception of grouping by common fate, biological motion, and other biologically relevant stimuli, such as faces. Studies in alert monkeys while freely viewing natural scenes showed that classical and nonclassical RFs cooperate in forming representations of the visual world. Today, our understanding of the mechanisms underlying the RF is undergoing a quantum leap. What had started out as a hierarchical feedforward concept for simple stimuli, such as spots, lines, and bars, now refers to mechanisms involving ascending, descending, and lateral signal flow. By extension of the bottom-up paradigm, RFs are nowadays understood as adaptive processors, enabling the predictive coding of complex scenes. Top-down effects guiding attention and tuned to task-relevant information complement the bottom-up analysis

Interpretação Automatizada de Textos: Processamento de Anáforas

Esta tese apresenta uma solução para a interpretação de anáforas nominais definidas. Considere o seguinte texto: (1) a. Mariana comprou um carro novo. b. O motor veio danificado. A frase (1a) apresenta duas entidades: Mariana e um carro novo. Já a frase (1.2b) tem apenas uma entidade - o motor. No processo de interpretação, humano ou computacional, a utilização do artigo definido " o" é um indicativo de que a entidade já havia sido introduzida no discurso, i.e. apresenta um caráter anafórico. Resolver uma anáfora é, a priori, identificar a quem ou a que se refere esta anáfora. Mas no caso acima é mais do que isto: sem dúvida o motor existe no texto por causa da existência de um carro, porém a interpretação do motor deve ir além disto e identificar como este motor está ligado com aquele carro. Isto é uma anáfora nominal definida. A interpretação das anáforas nominais definidas ou de qualquer fenômeno anafórico pode ser generalizada como um processo que atribui valores aos itens da seguinte equação: R(A, T ) (2) onde: A denota a entidade introduzida pela interpretação fora de contexto de um pronome, de uma elipse ou de um sintagma nominal definido, T denota o seu antecedente e R é a relação existente entre A e T . O processo de resolução da equação, que é propriamente o processo de resolução de anáforas, consiste em descobrir T e R dado A. Nesta tese é proposta uma metodologia computacional que interpreta as anáforas nominais definidas cuja relação R é uma dentre: parte de, membro de, subcategorizado por e coreferência. A obtenção das relações é feita por um conjunto de regras pragmáticas [Freitas, Lopes e Menezes 2004, Filho e Freitas 2003] (cap. 3). Caso seja constatado que A não seja anafórica então ela é acomodada no contexto. A metodologia computacional é construída sobre um ambiente de programação em lógica [Damásio, Nejdl e Pereira 1994] que permite raciocinar abdutivamente [Kakas, Kowalski e Toni 1992] sobre a representação semântica do texto [Kamp e Reyle 1993]. A partir da interpretação das entidades é construída a estrutura nominal do discurso [Lopes e Freitas 1994] (cap. 4), a qual permite: (1) fazer o acompanhamento das entidades mais salientes em cada frase [Freitas e Lopes 1994], (2) limitar o universo de escolha de possíveis antecedentes[Freitas e Lopes 1996] e (3) prover um resumo das entidades do discurso. O resultado é uma metodologia que permite, de forma integrada, resolver anáforas e elipses, sendo que a estrutura nominal do discurso pode ser usada na busca de informações

Reply to Barris

We are grateful to Dr. Michael C. Barris for pointing out a resemblance between the subtle color gradients visible in Wassily Kandinsky’s 1916 painting (Fig. 1, below) and the assimilative watercolor spreading described by Pinna, B. (1987). Un effetto di colorazione. In V. Majer, M. Maeran, M. Santinello (Eds.), Il laboratorio e la cit

New illusions of sliding motion in depth

Apparent sliding motion in the so-called Ouchi illusion has been attributed to the global integration of local motion vectors arising from the aperture effect (Fermüller et al, 2000 Vision Research 40 77 – 96; Mather, 2000 Perception 29 721 – 727). In a number of variants of the Ouchi illusion, we here demonstrate that sliding motion will also arise without a directional motion bias from local elements. Specifically, we show that in a disk – annulus pattern made from wiggly lines, sliding motion occurs although the local orientations within the disk and annulus are the same. We then argue that in an array of square-shaped checks, sliding motion originates from the interaction between the explicit orientation of the checks and the implicit orientation of the invisible diagonals. Finally, we demonstrate that a central array of filled black circles surrounded by a grey edge appears to slide relative to a surround of empty circles. We tentatively account for sliding motion in this figure by differences in speed signals, figure – ground segregation and apparent depth due to contrast polarity, edge blur, demarcation by a frame, and difference in shape