title: Motion coherence across different chromatic axes.
abstract: It has been reported that equiluminant plaid patterns constructed from component gratings modulated along different axes of a cardinal colour space fail to create a coherent impression of two-dimensional motion [Krauskopf and Farell (1990). Nature, 348, 328-331]. In this paper we assess whether this lack of interaction between cardinal axes is a general finding or is instead dependent upon specific stimulus parameters. Type I and Type II plaids were made from sinusoidal components (1 cpd) each modulated along axes in a cardinal colour space and presented at equivalent perceived contrasts. The spatial angular difference between the two components was varied from 5 to 90 deg whilst keeping the Intersection of Constraints (I.O.C.) solution of the pattern constant. Observers were required to indicate the perceived direction of motion of the pattern in a single interval direction-identification task. We find that: (i) When plaids were made from components modulated along the same cardinal axis, coherent "pattern" motion was perceived at all angular differences. As the angular difference between the components decreased in a Type II plaid, the perceived direction of motion moved closer to the I.O.C. solution and away from that predicted by the vector sum. (ii) A plaid made from components modulated along red-green and blue-yellow cardinal axes (cross-cardinal axis) did not cohere at high angular differences (> 30 deg) but had a perceived direction of the fastest moving component. At lower angular differences, however, pattern motion was detected and approached the I.O.C. solution in much the same way as a same-cardinal axis Type II plaid. (iii) A plaid made from a luminance grating and a cardinal chromatic grating (red-green or blue-yellow) failed to cohere under all conditions, demonstrating that there is no interaction between luminance and chromatic cardinal axes. These results indicate that there are conditions under which red-green and blue-yellow cardinal components interact for the purposes of motion detection.
authors.affiliation: McGill Vision Research, Department of Ophthalmology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. cropper@cardiff.ac.uk
authors.forename: S J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Cropper
authors.forename: K T
authors.initials: KT
authors.lastname: Mullen
authors.forename: D R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Badcock
mesh_terms: D003118:Color Perception / Q000502:physiology; D015350:Contrast Sensitivity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008433:Mathematics; D008959:Models, Neurological; D009039:Motion Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual / Q000502:physiology*; D011601:Psychophysics