Curvature sensing by vision and touch

Abstract

Brain representations of curvature may be formed on the basis of either vision or touch. Experimental and theoretical work by the author and her colleagues has shown that the processing underlying such representations directly depends on specific two-dimensional geometric properties of the curved object, and on the symmetry of curvature. Virtual representations of curves with mirror symmetry were displayed in 2D on a computer screen to sighted observers for visual scaling. For tactile (haptic) scaling, the physical counterparts of these curves were placed in the two hands of sighted observers, who were blindfolded during the sensing experiment, and of congenitally blind observers, who never had any visual experience. All results clearly show that curvature, whether haptically or visually sensed, is statistically linked to the same curve properties. Sensation is expressed psychophysically as a power function of any symmetrical curve's aspect ratio, a scale invariant geometric property of physical objects. The results of the author's work support biologically motivated models of sensory integration for curvature processing. They also promote the idea of a universal power law for adaptive brain control and balancing of motor responses to environmental stimuli across sensory modalities