Comparing depth from motion with depth from binocular disparity.

The accuracy of depth judgments that are based on binocular disparity or structure from motion (motion parallax and object rotation) was studied in 3 experiments. In Experiment 1, depth judgments were recorded for computer simulations of cones specified by binocular disparity, motion parallax, or stereokinesis. In Experiment 2, judgments were recorded for real cones in a structured environment, with depth information from binocular disparity, motion parallax, or object rotation about the y-axis. In both of these experiments, judgments from binocular disparity information were quite accurate, but judgments on the basis of geometrically equivalent or more robust motion information reflected poor recovery of quantitative depth information. A 3rd experiment demonstrated stereoscopic depth constancy for distances of 1 to 3 m using real objects in a well-illuminated, structured viewing environment in which monocular depth cues (e.g., shading) were minimized. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Ocular responses to motion parallax stimuli: the role of perceptual and attentional factors

When human subjects are presented with visual displays consisting of random dots moving sideways at different velocities, they perceive transparent surfaces, moving in the same direction but located at different distances from themselves. They perceive depth from motion parallax, without any additional cues to depth, such as relative size, occlusion or binocular disparity. Simultaneously, large-field visual motion triggers compensatory eye movements which tend to offset such motion, in order to stabilize the visual image of the environment. In a series of experiments, we investigated how such reflexive eye movements are controlled by motion parallax displays, that is, in a situation where a complete stabilization of the visual image is never possible. Results show that optokinetic nystagmus, and not merely active visual pursuit of singular elements, is triggered by such displays. Prior to the detection of depth from motion parallax, eye tracking velocity is equal to the average velocity of the visual image. After detection, eye tracking velocity spontaneously matches the slowest velocity in the visual field, but can be controlled by attentional factors. Finally, for a visual stimulation containing more than three velocities, subjects are no longer able to perceptually dissociate between different surfaces in depth, and eye tracking velocity remains equal to the average velocity of the visual image. These data suggest that, in the presence of flow fields containing motion parallax, optokinetic eye movements are modulated by perceptual and attentional factors.     

Depth perception as a function of motion parallax and absolute-distance information.

Conducted 3 experiments with 12 observers from a university community to determine whether the visual system calibrates motion parallax according to absolute-distance information in processing depth and to map the range of depth perception as a function of distance and motion parallax. The parallax was created by yoking the relative movement of random dots displayed on a CRT to the movements of the head. In Exp I, at viewing distances of 40 and 80 cm, Ss reported the apparent depth produced by motion parallax equivalent to a binocular disparity of 0.47°. The mean apparent depth at 80 cm was 2.6 times larger than at 40 cm. In Exp II, again at viewing distances of 40 and 80 cm, Ss adjusted the extent of parallax so that the apparent depth was 7.0 cm. The mean extent of parallax at 80 cm was 31% of that at 40 cm. These findings show that the visual system does calibrate motion parallax according to absolute-distance information in processing depth. In Exp III, distances ranged from 40 to 320 cm, and a wide range of parallax was used. As distance and parallax increased, the perception of a rigid 3-dimensional surface was accompanied by rocking motion; perception of depth was replaced by perception of motion in some trials at 320 cm. Moreover, the mean apparent depths were proportional to the viewing distance at 40 and 80 cm but not at 160 and 320 cm. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Accuracy and precision of binocular 3-D motion perception.

In principle, information for 3-D motion perception is provided by the differences in position and motion between left- and right-eye images of the world. It is known that observers can precisely judge between different 3-D motion trajectories, but the accuracy of binocular 3-D motion perception has not been studied. The authors measured the accuracy of 3-D motion perception. In 4 different tasks, observers were inaccurate, overestimating trajectory angle, despite consistently choosing similar angles (high precision). Errors did not vary consistently with target distance, as would be expected had inaccuracy been due to misestimates of viewing distance. Observers appeared to rely strongly on the lateral position of the target, almost to the exclusion of the use of depth information. For the present tasks, these data suggest that neither an accurate estimate of 3-D motion direction nor one of passing distance can be obtained using only binocular cues to motion in depth. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Treatment of lymphoid malignancies in patients with ataxia-telangiectasia

The present study tested the idea that if subjects rely more on scene-based pictorial cues when binocular cues are not available, then both their perceptual judgements and their grasp might be influenced by pictorial illusions such as the Ebbinghaus (Titchener) Circles Illusion under monocular viewing conditions. Under binocular viewing conditions, subjects were always able to scale their grip accurately to the true size of the target disc and were unaffected by the illusion. Under monocular viewing, however, subjects appeared to be influenced by the illusion. Thus, when confronted with physically different target discs displayed on backgrounds that made them appear equivalent in size, subjects treated the two discs as equivalent--even when picking them up. These results, combined with earlier work from our laboratory suggests that binocular information plays a critical role in normal human prehension but when this information is not available the visuomotor system is able to "fall back" on the remaining monocular cues, which can cause the visuomotor system to be more susceptible to pictorial illusions.     

Comparison of two indicators of perceived egocentric distance under full-cue and reduced-cue conditions.

It has not been established that walking without vision to previewed targets is indeed controlled by perceived distance. To this end, we compared walking and verbal report as distance indicators, looking for a tight covariation in responses that would indicate control by a common variable. Targets from 79–500 cm away were presented under dark and well-lit conditions. Both verbal reports and walking indicated overestimation of near targets and underestimation of far targets under dark viewing conditions. Moreover, the finding that verbally reported distance plotted essentially as a single-valued function of walked distance and vice versa is evidence that both indicators were responding to the same internal variable, ostensibly perceived distance. In addition, binocular parallax, absolute motion parallax, and angular elevation were evaluated as distance cues, and only angular elevation exerted a large influence on perceived distance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Learned stimulation in space and motion perception.

Argues that in the perception of distance, depth, and visual motion, a single property is often represented by 2 or more stimuli. Two instances of such redundant stimulation are discussed: (a) the various stimuli that represent visual motion and (b) the 2 forms of stimulation by which binocular parallax evokes stereoscopic depth perception. In the case of visual motion, simultaneous operation of redundant stimulation has raised questions concerning the basis of experienced motion and the conditions under which different motion processes are combined. Experiments are described that suggest that some redundant stimuli owe their existence to simple associative learning. Evidence is reviewed that shows that binocular parallax causes stereoscopic depth by means of 2 different perceptual processes. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mechanism of block by 4-aminopyridine of the transient outward current in rat ventricular cardiomyocytes

Binocular information has been shown to be important for the programming and control of reaching and grasping. But even without binocular vision, people are still able to reach out and pick up objects accurately - albeit less efficiently. As part of a continuing investigation into the role that monocular cues play in visuomotor control, we examined whether or not subjects could use retinal motion information, derived from movements of the head, to help program and control reaching and grasping movements when binocular vision is denied. Subjects reached out in the dark to an illuminated sphere presented at eye-level, under both monocular and binocular viewing conditions with their head either free to move or restrained. When subjects viewed the display monocularly, they showed fewer on-line corrections when they were allowed to move their head. No such difference in performance was seen when subjects were allowed a full binocular view. This study, combined with previous work with neurological patients, confirms that the visuomotor system "prefers" to use binocular vision but, when this information is not available, can fall back on other monocular depth cues, such as information produced by motion of the object (and the scene) on the retina, to help program and control manual prehension.     

Performance on the visual cliff by cats with marginal gyrus lesions

Lesions in 12 cats that destroyed almost all of area 17 (Group MS) abolished differential responding on the visual cliff. Performance was not impaired in 9 cats in which regions of the striate cortex were spared in the depths of the splenial sulcus or in 23 cats with damage to extramarginal areas. There were 37 controls. Additional experiments indicated that the deficit in performance by MS cats was not reduced either by the administration of amphetamine or by increases in cues for motion parallax. Monocularly occluded normal cats preferred the shallow surface of the visual cliff, demonstrating that the deficit was not due solely to removal of neurons sensitive to binocular disparity. The findings were discussed in light of electrophysiological evidence that lesions of the visual cortex disrupt functions of the superior colliculus.     

Accommodation, occlusion, and disparity matching are used to guide reaching: A comparison of actual versus virtual environments.

The authors used a virtual environment to investigate visual control of reaching and monocular and binocular perception of egocentric distance, size, and shape. With binocular vision, the results suggested use of disparity matching. This was tested and confirmed in the virtual environment by eliminating other information about contact of hand and target. Elimination of occlusion of hand by target destabilized monocular but not binocular performance. Because the virtual environment entails accommodation of an image beyond reach, the authors predicted overestimation of egocentric distances in the virtual relative to actual environment. This was confirmed. The authors used -2 diopter glasses to reduce the focal distance in the virtual environment. Overestimates were reduced by half. The authors conclude that calibration of perception is required for accurate feedforward reaching and that disparity matching is optimal visual information for calibration. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceptual depth synthesis in the visual system as revealed by selective adaptation.

Selective adaptation was used to determine the degree of interactions between channels processing relative depth from stereopsis, motion parallax, and texture. Monocular adaptations with motion parallax or binocular stationary adaptation caused test surfaces, viewed either stationary binocularly or monocularly with motion parallax, to appear to slant in the opposite direction compared with the slant initially adapted to. Monocular adaptations on frontoparallel surfaces covered with a pattern of texture gradients caused a subsequently viewed test surface, viewed either monocularly with motion parallax or stationary binocularly, to appear to slant in the opposite direction as the slant indicated by the texture in the adaptation condition. No aftereffect emerged in the monocular stationary test condition. A mechanism of independent channels for relative depth perception is dismissed in favor of a view of an asymmetrical interactive processing of different information sources. The results suggest asymmetrical inhibitory interactions among habituating slant detector units receiving inputs from static disparity, dynamic disparity, and texture gradients. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Depth perception in motion parallax and stereokinesis.

Perceived depth in the stereokinetic effect (SKE) illusion and in the monocular derivation of depth from motion parallax were compared. Motion parallax gradients of velocity can be decomposed into 2 components: object- and observer-relative transformations. SKE displays present only the object-relative component. Observers were asked to estimate the magnitude and near–far order of depth in motion parallax and SKE displays. Monocular derivation of depth magnitude from motion parallax is fully accounted for by the perceptual response to the SKE, and observer-relative transformations absent in the SKE are of perceptual utility only as determinants of the near–far signing of perceived sequential depth. The amount of depth and rigidity perceived in motion parallax and SKE displays covaries with the projective size of the stimuli. The monocular derivation of depth from motion is mediated by a perceptual heuristic of which the SKE is symptomatic. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Accuracy of estimating time to collision using binocular and monocular information

We measured both the just-noticeable difference in time to collision (TTC) with an approaching object, and the absolute accuracy in estimating TTC in the following cases: only binocular information available; only monocular information available; both binocular and monocular information available as in the everyday situation. Observers could discriminate trial-to-trial variations in TTC on the basis of binocular information alone: the just-noticeable difference in TTC (5.1-9.8%) was the same for a small (0.03 deg) target and for a large (0.7 deg) target. In line with previous reports, when only monocular information was available, the just-noticeable difference in TTC was 5.8-12% for the large target. However, observers could not reliably discriminate trial-to-trial variations in TTC with the small target when only monocular information was available. When both binocular and monocular information was available, the just-noticeable difference in TTC for the large target was not significantly different from when only binocular or only monocular information was available. Observers could make reliable estimates of absolute TTC using binocular information only. Errors ranged from 2.5 to 10% for the large target, and 2.6 to 3.0% for the small target, all being overestimates. Errors for the small target were the same or lower than errors for the large target. Observers could make reliable estimates of TTC with the large target using monocular information only. Errors ranged from 2.0 to 12%, all being underestimates. Since monocular information did not provide a basis for reliable estimates of absolute TTC with the small target we conclude that, in everyday conditions, accurate estimates of TTC with small targets are based on binocular information when the object is small and is no more than a few metres away. Errors in estimating absolute TTC were lower in the case where both binocular and monocular information were available (as in the everyday situation) than when only binocular information or only monocular information was available. Errors ranged from 1.3 to 2.7%. An error of 1.3% approaches the accuracy required to explain the +/- 2.0-2.5 msec accuracy with which top sports players can estimate the instant of impact between bat and ball.     

Use of Visual, Acoustic, and Olfactory Information During Embedded Invertebrate Foraging in Brown Capuchins (Cebus apella).

Experiments were conducted to investigate which sensory cues are used by brown capuchins (Cebus apella) in embedded invertebrate foraging. The importance of visual, olfactory, and acoustic cues in such foraging was determined by presenting subjects with a stimulus log modified to block out given sensory cues. Experiment 1 was designed to investigate whether subjects could locate an invertebrate embedded in wood when only visual, acoustic, or olfactory information was available. Experiments 2 and 3 were designed to investigate extractive foraging behavior when two sensory cues were provided. It was hypothesized that the combination of visual and acoustic information would be necessary for subjects to successfully locate embedded invertebrates. Results indicated that subjects' performance was most successful when both visual and acoustic information was available. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Discrimination of the direction and speed of motion in depth of a monocularly visible target from binocular information alone

Thresholds for discriminating a monocularly visible object's direction of motion in depth and speed of motion in depth were measured using only binocular cues. Observers could discriminate the direction of motion in depth while totally ignoring speed and discriminate the speed of motion in depth while totally ignoring direction. Direction discrimination thresholds were the same for motion in depth within the vertical and horizontal meridians, even though a cue to trajectory was available for motion within the horizontal meridian that is not available for motion within the vertical meridian. Speed discrimination thresholds also were the same for motion in depth within the vertical and horizontal meridians. For the 3 observers the lowest direction discrimination thresholds were 0.14 degree, 0.18 degree, and 0.22 degree (means of horizontal and vertical thresholds).     

Cocaine use during pregnancy: sensitive detection by hair assay

In the natural world, a number of visual cues indicate that an item is quickly approaching the perceiver. Binocular disparity is one cue for depth, and it has been demonstrated that abrupt changes in disparity, artificially unaccompanied by correlated depth cues, are capable of causing the perception of looming for the observer. An experiment involving 38 undergraduates, using a computer-controlled stereoscopic display, examined the ability of above-threshold changes in disparity (artificial looming) to facilitate response time and accuracy for observers engaged in an object-enumeration task within a cluttered display. Compared with performance using the same stimuli without disparity information (lateral motion), participants were more accurate regardless of the disparity level (9, 12, 24, or 48 minutes of arc) and faster at the two lowest levels of disparity. Participants showed the classic subitizing function, suggesting that target stimuli presented with motion information were segregated from otherwise identical distractor items. It is proposed that binocular disparity information can act as a valid location cuing method in stereoscopic computer displays in which form and color information are to be preserved.     

Optic flow and the metric of the visual ground plane

A theory is developed in which the optic flow of an observer translating over the ground plane determines the metric of egocentric visual space. Optic flow is used to operationalize the equality of spatial intervals not unlike physicists use time to compare spatial intervals. The theory predicts empirical matching ratios for collinear, sagittal intervals to within 2% of the mean (eight subjects, standard error also 2%). The theory predicts that frontoparallel intervals on the ground plane will match sagittal intervals if their relative image motions match, which was found empirically. It is suggested that the optic flow metric serves to calibrate static depth cues such as angular elevation and binocular parallax.     

Encoding of geometric and landmark information in the left and right hemispheres of the avian brain.

Chicks were trained binocularly to find food buried under sawdust in the center of a square enclosure. When tested in an enclosure made larger or smaller in size, binocular and left-eyed chicks searched mainly on the basis of relative distance of the food from the enclosure walls, whereas right-eyed chicks searched on the basis of absolute distance. Moreover, binocular and left-eyed chicks relied mainly on global spatial information (i.e., distances from the walls), whereas right-eyed chicks also used information provided by visual landmarks. These results suggest that the right hemisphere of the avian brain (fed mostly by the left eye) is primarily concerned with encoding of relational spatial information, whereas the left hemisphere (fed mainly by the right eye) is concerned with absolute metric information, possibly as part of an encoding strategy based primarily on local (both spatial and nonspatial) cues. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Is binocular correspondence and disparity still a dominant factor in binocular depth perception?

Laws of binocular correspondence and disparity are regarded as bases for explanation of most of the phenomena of binocular depth perception in the near field of vision. Abnormal phenomena such as differences in astigmatism of the 2 eyes, differences in acuity, cases of natural aniseikonia, investigated by the author, confirm the validity of the laws of correspondence and disparity and also of the law of intersection of visual directional lines. The inadequacies of other theories of binocular depth perception are pointed out and the author concludes that they cannot supplant the laws of binocular correspondence and disparity for the great majority of cases of binocular perception of depth in the near field of vision. (46 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)