Depth perception of illusory surfaces.
The perception of an illusory surface, a subjectively perceived surface that is not given in the image, is one of the most intriguing phenomena in vision. It strongly influences the perception of some fundamental properties, namely, depth, lightness and contours. Recently, we suggested (1) that the context-sensitive mechanism of depth computation plays a key role in creating the illusion, (2) that the illusory lightness perception can be explained by an influence of depth perception on the lightness computation, and (3) that the perception of variations of the Kanizsa figure can be well-reproduced by implementing these principles in a model (Kogo, Strecha, et al., 2010). However, depth perception, lightness perception, contour perception, and their interactions can be influenced by various factors. It is essential to measure the differences between the variation figures in these aspects separately to further understand the mechanisms. As a first step, we report here the results of a new experimental paradigm to compare the depth perception of the Kanizsa figure and its variations. One of the illusory figures was presented side-by-side with a non-illusory variation whose stereo disparities were varied. Participants had to decide in which of these two figures the central region appeared closer. The results indicate that the depth perception of the illusory surface was indeed different in the variation figures. Furthermore, there was a non-linear interaction between the occlusion cues and stereo disparity cues. Implications of the results for the neuro-computational mechanisms are discussed.
Laboratory of Experimental Psychology, University of Leuven (KU Leuven), Tiensestraat 102, Box 3711, BE-3000 Leuven, Belgium. Electronic address: Naoki.Kogo@gmail.com.
Naoki
N
Kogo
Laboratory of Experimental Psychology, University of Leuven (KU Leuven), Tiensestraat 102, Box 3711, BE-3000 Leuven, Belgium.
Anna
A
Drożdżewska
Laboratory of Experimental Psychology, University of Leuven (KU Leuven), Tiensestraat 102, Box 3711, BE-3000 Leuven, Belgium.
Peter
P
Zaenen
Laboratory of Experimental Psychology, University of Leuven (KU Leuven), Tiensestraat 102, Box 3711, BE-3000 Leuven, Belgium.
Nihan
N
Alp
Laboratory of Experimental Psychology, University of Leuven (KU Leuven), Tiensestraat 102, Box 3711, BE-3000 Leuven, Belgium.
Johan
J
Wagemans
D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D003463:Cues; D003867:Depth Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007088:Illusions / Q000502:physiology*; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000502:physiology; D010775:Photic Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D015357:Vision Disparity / Q000502:physiology; D015348:Vision, Binocular / Q000502:physiology*
Depth perception; Illusory surface; Modal completion; Neural mechanism; Occlusion; Stereo vision