The Ouchi illusion: an anomaly in the perception of rigid motion for limited spatial frequencies and angles.
The spatial parameters underlying a novel illusion of relative motion are characterized. A simple stimulus composed of two sine-wave gratings was sufficient to generate the illusion. We measured the response of subjects to rapid, small-amplitude oscillations of this stimulus behind a fixation point. The effect was clearly strongest for acute angles between the gratings, but only when spatial frequency was between 6 and 11 cpd. We surmise that activity in the grating cells of the primate visual cortex (von der Heydt, Peterhans, & Dursteler, 1992) might be the cause of the illusion. The illusion is potentially an important tool in understanding how higher cortical areas combine disparate motion signals.
Hine
T
T
Australian National University, Canberra, Australia. t.hine@hbs.gu.edu.au
Cook
M
M
Rogers
G T
GT
D006801:Humans; D009039:Motion Perception; D009903:Optical Illusions; D014793:Visual Cortex / Q000502:physiology