Psychophysical evidence for competition between real and illusory contour processing

Luminance defined and illusory contours provide vital information about object borders. However, real and illusory contour cues tend to be used under different contexts and can interfere with one another. Although some cells in visual cortex process both real and illusory contours equivalently, recent studies (Ramsden et al 2001) suggest competitive interactions between real (feedforward) and illusory (feedback) contour processing in primate V1 and V2. To test this hypothesis psychophysically, we designed stimuli in which illusory contours are presented with and without the presence of real line components. If real and illusory contour cues are processed by the same mechanism, then the presence of both cues should enhance the percept. If the illusory percept is degraded by the presence of real lines, then independent real and illusory mechanisms are suggested. The perception of a Kanisza-triangle, presented for 250 msec, was measured under three conditions: 1) virtual contour alone, 2) with a short parallel real line superimposed on the virtual contour or 3) with a short orthogonal real line abutting the virtual contour. The real lines were varied from sub- to supra-threshold contrasts. In a 2AFC paradigm three subjects fixated on a spot in the triangle center and indicated whether the side of the triangle was bent outwards or inwards. We found that real lines degraded the percept of the illusory contour (i.e. increased angular thresholds). Such interference occurred even at subthreshold real line contrasts and, in some subjects, was greater for the parallel than orthogonal real line. Our results support the presence of separate mechanisms for the processing of real and illusory contours and suggest that, under some circumstances, real cues can interfere with the processing of illusory cues. We suggest that such interferences occurs by the feedforward influences of the lines which interfere with the feedback influences prominent during illusory contour processing

Illusory Decoherence

If a quantum experiment includes random processes, then the results of repeated measurements can appear consistent with irreversible decoherence even if the system's evolution prior to measurement was reversible and unitary. Two thought experiments are constructed as examples.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figure

EEG findings of reduced neural synchronization during visual integration in schizophrenia

Schizophrenia patients exhibit well-documented visual processing deficits. One area of disruption is visual integration, the ability to form global objects from local elements. However, most studies of visual integration in schizophrenia have been conducted in the context of an active attention task, which may influence the findings. In this study we examined visual integration using electroencephalography (EEG) in a passive task to elucidate neural mechanisms associated with poor visual integration. Forty-six schizophrenia patients and 30 healthy controls had EEG recorded while passively viewing figures comprised of real, illusory, or no contours. We examined visual P100, N100, and P200 event-related potential (ERP) components, as well as neural synchronization in the gamma (30-60 Hz) band assessed by the EEG phase locking factor (PLF). The N100 was significantly larger to illusory vs. no contour, and illusory vs. real contour stimuli while the P200 was larger only to real vs. illusory stimuli; there were no significant interactions with group. Compared to controls, patients failed to show increased phase locking to illusory versus no contours between 40-60 Hz. Also, controls, but not patients, had larger PLF between 30-40 Hz when viewing real vs. illusory contours. Finally, the positive symptom factor of the BPRS was negatively correlated with PLF values between 40-60 Hz to illusory stimuli, and with PLF between 30-40 Hz to real contour stimuli. These results suggest that the pattern of results across visual processing conditions is similar in patients and controls. However, patients have deficits in neural synchronization in the gamma range during basic processing of illusory contours when attentional demand is limited

The cutaneous 'rabbit' illusion affects human primary sensory cortex somatopically

We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to study neural correlates of a robust somatosensory illusion that can dissociate tactile perception from physical stimulation. Repeated rapid stimulation at the wrist, then near the elbow, can create the illusion of touches at intervening locations along the arm, as if a rabbit hopped along it. We examined brain activity in humans using fMRI, with improved spatial resolution, during this version of the classic cutaneous rabbit illusion. As compared with control stimulation at the same skin sites (but in a different order that did not induce the illusion), illusory sequences activated contralateral primary somatosensory cortex, at a somatotopic location corresponding to the filled-in illusory perception on the forearm. Moreover, the amplitude of this somatosensory activation was comparable to that for veridical stimulation including the intervening position on the arm. The illusion additionally activated areas of premotor and prefrontal cortex. These results provide direct evidence that illusory somatosensory percepts can affect primary somatosensory cortex in a manner that corresponds somatotopically to the illusory percept

Neurophysiological correlates of the rubber hand illusion in late evoked and alpha/beta band activity

The rubber hand illusion (RHI) allows insights into how the brain resolves conflicting multisensory information regarding body position and ownership. Previous neuroimaging studies have reported a variety of neurophysiological correlates of illusory hand ownership, with conflicting results likely originating from differences in experimental parameters and control conditions. Here, we overcome these limitations by using a fully automated and precisely-timed visuo-tactile stimulation setup to record evoked responses and oscillatory responses in participants who felt the RHI. Importantly, we relied on a combination of experimental conditions to rule out confounds of attention, body-stimulus position and stimulus duration and on the combination of two control conditions to identify neurophysiological correlates of illusory hand ownership. In two separate experiments we observed a consistent illusion-related attenuation of ERPs around 330 ms over frontocentral electrodes, as well as decreases of frontal alpha and beta power during the illusion that could not be attributed to changes in attention, body-stimulus position or stimulus duration. Our results reveal neural correlates of illusory hand ownership in late and likely higher-order rather than early sensory processes, and support a role of premotor and possibly intraparietal areas in mediating illusory body ownership

The Role of Edges and Line-Ends in Illusory Contour Formation

Illusory contours can be induced along directions approximately collinear to edges or approximately perpendicular to the ends of lines. Using a rating scale procedure we explored the relation between the two types of inducers by systematically varying the thickness of inducing elements to result; in varying amounts of "edge-like" or "line-like" induction. Inducers for om illusory figures consisted of concentric rings with arcs missing. Observers judged the clarity and brightness of illusory figures as the number of arcs, their thicknesses, and spacings were parametrically varied. Degree of clarity and amount of induced brightness were both found to be inverted-U functions of the number of arcs. These results mandate that any valid model of illusory contour formation must account for interference effects between parallel lines or between those neural units responsible for completion of boundary signals in directions perpendicular to the ends of thin lines. Line width was found to have an effect on both clarity and brightness, a finding inconsistent with those models which employ only completion perpendicular to inducer orientation.Air Force Office of Scientific Research (F49620-92-J-0334, URI 90-0175, F49620-92-J-0334); National Science Foundation (Graduate Fellowship); Office of Naval Research (N00014-91-J-4100

Fooling the eyes: the influence of a sound-induced visual motion illusion on eye movements

The question of whether perceptual illusions influence eye movements is critical for the long-standing debate regarding the separation between action and perception. To test the role of auditory context on a visual illusion and on eye movements, we took advantage of the fact that the presence of an auditory cue can successfully modulate illusory motion perception of an otherwise static flickering object (sound-induced visual motion effect). We found that illusory motion perception modulated by an auditory context consistently affected saccadic eye movements. Specifically, the landing positions of saccades performed towards flickering static bars in the periphery were biased in the direction of illusory motion. Moreover, the magnitude of this bias was strongly correlated with the effect size of the perceptual illusion. These results show that both an audio-visual and a purely visual illusion can significantly affect visuo-motor behavior. Our findings are consistent with arguments for a tight link between perception and action in localization tasks

Book Review: \u3ci\u3eThe Ethics of Śaṅkara and Śāntideva: A Selfless Response to an Illusory World.\u3c/i\u3e

Book review of, The Ethics of Śaṅkara and Śāntideva: A Selfless Response to an Illusory World. by Warren Lee Todd