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Llamas-Cornejo I, Peterzell DH, Serrano-Pedraza I. Temporal mechanisms in frontoparallel stereomotion revealed by individual differences analysis. Eur J Neurosci 2024; 59:3117-3133. [PMID: 38622053 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.16342] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2023] [Revised: 03/19/2024] [Accepted: 03/20/2024] [Indexed: 04/17/2024]
Abstract
Masking experiments, using vertical and horizontal sinusoidal depth corrugations, have suggested the existence of more than two spatial-frequency disparity mechanisms. This result was confirmed through an individual differences approach. Here, using factor analytic techniques, we want to investigate the existence of independent temporal mechanisms in frontoparallel stereoscopic (cyclopean) motion. To construct stereomotion, we used sinusoidal depth corrugations obtained with dynamic random-dot stereograms. Thus, no luminance motion was present monocularly. We measured disparity thresholds for drifting vertical (up-down) and horizontal (left-right) sinusoidal corrugations of 0.4 cyc/deg at 0.25, 0.5, 1, 2, 4, 6, and 8 Hz. In total, we tested 34 participants. Results showed a small orientation anisotropy with lower thresholds for horizontal corrugations. Disparity thresholds as a function of temporal frequency were almost constant from 0.25 up to 1 Hz, and then they increased monotonically. Principal component analysis uncovered two significant factors for vertical and two for horizontal corrugations. Varimax rotation showed that one factor loaded from 0.25 to 1-2 Hz and a second factor from 2 to 4 to 8 Hz. Direct Oblimin rotation indicated a moderate intercorrelation of both factors. Our results suggest the possible existence of two somewhat interdependent temporal mechanisms involved in frontoparallel stereomotion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ichasus Llamas-Cornejo
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Campus de Somosaguas, Madrid, Spain
| | - David H Peterzell
- Fielding Graduate University, Santa Barbara, California, and National University (JFK), Pleasant Hill, California, USA
| | - Ignacio Serrano-Pedraza
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Campus de Somosaguas, Madrid, Spain
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Ding J, Lu HH, Levi DM. Absolute and relative disparity mechanisms revealed by an equivalent noise analysis. Sci Rep 2024; 14:6863. [PMID: 38514715 PMCID: PMC10958039 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-57406-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2023] [Accepted: 03/18/2024] [Indexed: 03/23/2024] Open
Abstract
The precision of stereopsis and vergence are ultimately limited by internal binocular disparity noise. Here we propose an equivalent noise model with both global and local internal disparity noises to provide a unified explanation of both absolute and relative disparity thresholds. To test this model, we developed a psychophysical procedure to measure the equivalent internal disparity noise by adding external disparity noise to random-Gabor-patch stereograms. We used the method of constant stimuli to measure the minimum and maximum disparity thresholds (Dmin and Dmax) for both absolute and relative disparity. Consistent with previous studies, we found that Dmin thresholds are substantially worse for absolute disparity than for relative disparity. We tested three relative disparity mechanisms: (1) the difference between the monocular separations of targets projecting to the two eyes; (2) the direct measurement of relative disparity; and (3) the difference of absolute disparities of targets. Computing the difference of absolute disparities when detecting relative disparity, Mechanism 3 cancels global noise, resulting in a much lower relative Dmin threshold, and provides a reasonable fit to the experimental data. We also found that the presence of as much as 2400 arcsec of external disparity noise does not appear to affect the Dmax threshold. This observation suggests that Dmax is implicated in a mechanism that disregards the disparity variance of individual items, relying instead on the average disparity across all items, supporting the depth model proposed in our previous study (Ding & Levi, 2021), which posits distinct mechanisms governing Dmin and Dmax thresholds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jian Ding
- Herbert Wertheim School of Optometry and Vision Science and the Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 94720-2020, USA.
| | - Hilary H Lu
- Herbert Wertheim School of Optometry and Vision Science and the Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 94720-2020, USA
| | - Dennis M Levi
- Herbert Wertheim School of Optometry and Vision Science and the Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 94720-2020, USA
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Kaestner M, Chen YD, Clement C, Hodges A, Norcia AM. Two Disparity Channels in Human Visual Cortex With Different Contrast and Blur Sensitivity. Transl Vis Sci Technol 2024; 13:21. [PMID: 38411970 PMCID: PMC10910559 DOI: 10.1167/tvst.13.2.21] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2023] [Accepted: 01/07/2024] [Indexed: 02/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Purpose Our goal is to describe the contrast and blur sensitivity of multiple horizontal disparity subsystems and to relate them to the contrast and spatial sensitivities of their monocular inputs. Methods Steady-state visual evoked potential (SSVEP) amplitudes were recorded in response to dynamic random dot stereograms (DRDSs) alternating at 2 Hz between zero disparity and varying magnitudes of crossed disparity for disparity plane and disparity grating stimuli. Half-image contrasts ranged between 2.5% and 80% and over a range of Gaussian blurs from 1.4 to 12 arcmin. Separate experiments measured contrast and blur sensitivity for the monocular half-images. Results The first and second harmonics disparity responses were maximal for disparity gratings and for the disparity plane condition, respectively. The first harmonic of the disparity grating response was more affected by both contrast and blur than was the second harmonic of the disparity plane response, which had higher contrast sensitivity than the first harmonic. Conclusions The corrugation frequency, contrast, and blur tuning of the first harmonic suggest that it reflects activity of neurons tuned to higher luminance spatial frequencies that are selective for relative disparity, whereas the second harmonic reflects the activity of neurons sensitive to absolute disparity that are driven by low monocular spatial frequencies. Translational Relevance SSVEPs to DRDSs provide two objective neural measures of disparity processing, the first harmonic-whose stimulus preferences are similar to those of behavioral stereoacuity-and the second harmonic that represents an independent disparity-specific but not necessarily stereoscopic mechanism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Milena Kaestner
- Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
- Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Yulan D. Chen
- Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
- Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Caroline Clement
- Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Alex Hodges
- Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Anthony M. Norcia
- Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
- Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
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Ash RT, Nix KC, Norcia AM. Stability of steady-state visual evoked potential contrast response functions. Psychophysiology 2024; 61:e14412. [PMID: 37614220 PMCID: PMC10871127 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.14412] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2022] [Revised: 06/07/2023] [Accepted: 06/10/2023] [Indexed: 08/25/2023]
Abstract
Repetitive sensory stimulation has been shown to induce neuroplasticity in sensory cortical circuits, at least under certain conditions. We measured the plasticity-inducing effect of repetitive contrast-reversal-sweep steady-state visual-evoked potential (ssVEP) stimuli, hoping to employ the ssVEP's high signal-to-noise electrophysiological readout in the study of human visual cortical neuroplasticity. Steady-state VEP contrast-sweep responses were measured daily for 4 days (four 20-trial blocks per day, 20 participants). No significant neuroplastic changes in response amplitude were observed either across blocks or across days. Furthermore, response amplitudes were stable within-participant, with measured across-block and across-day coefficients of variation (CV = SD/mean) of 15-20 ± 2% and 22-25 ± 2%, respectively. Steady-state VEP response phase was also highly stable, suggesting that temporal processing delays in the visual system vary by at most 2-3 ms across blocks and days. While we fail to replicate visual stimulation-dependent cortical plasticity, we show that contrast-sweep steady-state VEPs provide a stable human neurophysiological measure well suited for repeated-measures longitudinal studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ryan T Ash
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA
| | - Kerry C Nix
- Neuroscience Graduate Group, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Anthony M Norcia
- Department of Psychology and Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA
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Li H, Wang X, Li J, Lin W. Double fusion, a depth perception mechanism in Panum's limiting case. Perception 2023; 52:613-628. [PMID: 37408435 DOI: 10.1177/03010066231177513] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/07/2023]
Abstract
The origin of depth in Panum's limiting case is unclear at present, so we investigated the depth perception mechanism using a triangle type of Panum's stimulus with a slant effect and clear criterion. Experiment 1 explored whether participants can correctly perceive fixation and nonfixation features using the fixation point and quick representation of stimuli, then examined whether participants' depth judgments supported double fusion or single fusion. The results of Experiment 1 showed that participants could correctly perceive the depth of fixation and nonfixation features. That is, it supported double fusion. In Experiment 2, we examined whether the depth perceived by observers comes from depth contrast. The results of Experiment 2 showed that the depth of the two features perceived after binocular fusion did not originate from the depth contrast. The findings suggest that the depth perception mechanism of Panum's limiting case is more likely to be double fusion.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Jing Li
- Zhejiang Normal University, China
| | - Wenmin Lin
- Shanghai International Studies University, China
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Chen YD, Kaestner M, Norcia AM. Cognitive penetrability of scene representations based on horizontal image disparities. Sci Rep 2022; 12:17902. [PMID: 36284130 PMCID: PMC9596438 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-22670-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2022] [Accepted: 10/18/2022] [Indexed: 01/20/2023] Open
Abstract
The structure of natural scenes is signaled by many visual cues. Principal amongst them are the binocular disparities created by the laterally separated viewpoints of the two eyes. Disparity cues are believed to be processed hierarchically, first in terms of local measurements of absolute disparity and second in terms of more global measurements of relative disparity that allow extraction of the depth structure of a scene. Psychophysical and oculomotor studies have suggested that relative disparities are particularly relevant to perception, whilst absolute disparities are not. Here, we compare neural responses to stimuli that isolate the absolute disparity cue with stimuli that contain additional relative disparity cues, using the high temporal resolution of EEG to determine the temporal order of absolute and relative disparity processing. By varying the observers' task, we assess the extent to which each cue is cognitively penetrable. We find that absolute disparity is extracted before relative disparity, and that task effects arise only at or after the extraction of relative disparity. Our results indicate a hierarchy of disparity processing stages leading to the formation of a proto-object representation upon which higher cognitive processes can act.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yulan D Chen
- Department of Psychology, Stanford University, 450 Jane Stanford Way, Stanford, CA, USA
- Wu-Tsai Neuroscience Institute, Stanford University, 290 Jane Stanford Way, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Milena Kaestner
- Department of Psychology, Stanford University, 450 Jane Stanford Way, Stanford, CA, USA.
- Wu-Tsai Neuroscience Institute, Stanford University, 290 Jane Stanford Way, Stanford, CA, USA.
| | - Anthony M Norcia
- Department of Psychology, Stanford University, 450 Jane Stanford Way, Stanford, CA, USA
- Wu-Tsai Neuroscience Institute, Stanford University, 290 Jane Stanford Way, Stanford, CA, USA
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