Surround modulation in visual cortex can predict border-ownership selectivity: psychophysical study of border-ownership-dependent tilt aftereffect.
Recent physiological studies revealed that neurons in the macaque visual cortex encode the direction of a figure along a contour (border ownership, BO). Although their cortical mechanisms have not been clarified, a computational model for BO has suggested that surround modulation in early vision can play an important role. Here we examined psychophysically how the strength of BO-dependent tilt aftereffect (BO-TAE) is modulated by a stimulus outside the adapted location in relation to the strength of surround modulation reported in physiological experiments. The results showed systematic change of the strength of BO-TAE, depending on the difference in orientation and spatial frequency between the bars placed outside and at the adapted location, indicating a crucial role of surround modulation in the neural mechanism underlying BO selectivity.
Sugihara
Tadashi
T
Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, University of Rochester, 601 Elmwood Avenue, Box 603, Rochester, New York 14642, USA.
Tsuji
Yoshihisa
Y
Sakai
Ko
K
D000818:Animals; D008253:Macaca mulatta; D008959:Models, Neurological; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual / Q000502:physiology*; D014793:Visual Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D014795:Visual Pathways / Q000502:physiology*