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Motyka P, Akbal M, Litwin P. Forward optic flow is prioritised in visual awareness independently of walking direction. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0250905. [PMID: 33945563 PMCID: PMC8096117 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0250905] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2020] [Accepted: 04/15/2021] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
When two different images are presented separately to each eye, one experiences smooth transitions between them-a phenomenon called binocular rivalry. Previous studies have shown that exposure to signals from other senses can enhance the access of stimulation-congruent images to conscious perception. However, despite our ability to infer perceptual consequences from bodily movements, evidence that action can have an analogous influence on visual awareness is scarce and mainly limited to hand movements. Here, we investigated whether one's direction of locomotion affects perceptual access to optic flow patterns during binocular rivalry. Participants walked forwards and backwards on a treadmill while viewing highly-realistic visualisations of self-motion in a virtual environment. We hypothesised that visualisations congruent with walking direction would predominate in visual awareness over incongruent ones, and that this effect would increase with the precision of one's active proprioception. These predictions were not confirmed: optic flow consistent with forward locomotion was prioritised in visual awareness independently of walking direction and proprioceptive abilities. Our findings suggest the limited role of kinaesthetic-proprioceptive information in disambiguating visually perceived direction of self-motion and indicate that vision might be tuned to the (expanding) optic flow patterns prevalent in everyday life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paweł Motyka
- Faculty of Psychology, University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Mert Akbal
- Department of Neurology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
- Academy of Fine Arts Saar, Saarbrücken, Germany
| | - Piotr Litwin
- Faculty of Psychology, University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland
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Lim YH, Lee HC, Falkmer T, Allison GT, Tan T, Lee WL, Morris SL. Effect of Optic Flow on Postural Control in Children and Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Neuroscience 2018; 393:138-149. [PMID: 30312785 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2018.09.047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2018] [Revised: 09/20/2018] [Accepted: 09/29/2018] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
Abstract
Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have been associated with sensorimotor difficulties, commonly presented by poor postural control. Postural control is necessary for all motor behaviors. However, findings concerning the effect of visual motion on postural control and the age progression of postural control in individuals with ASD are inconsistent. The aims of the present study were to examine postural responses to optic flow in children and adults with and without ASD, postural responses to optic flow in the central and peripheral visual fields, and the changes in postural responses between the child and adult groups. Thirty-three children (8-12 years old) and 33 adults (18-50 years old) with and without ASD were assessed on quiet standing for 60 seconds under conditions of varying optic flow illusions, consisting of different combinations of optic flow directions and visual field display. The results showed that postural responses to most optic flow conditions were comparable between children with and without ASD and between adults with and without ASD. However, adults with ASD appeared more responsive to forward-moving optic flow in the peripheral visual field compared with typically developed adults. The findings suggest that children and adults with ASD may not display maladaptive postural responses all the time. In addition, adults in the ASD group may have difficulties prioritizing visual information in the central visual field over visual information in the peripheral visual field when in unfamiliar environments, which may have implications in understanding their motor behaviors in new surroundings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yi Huey Lim
- School of Occupational Therapy, Social Work and Speech Pathology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Curtin University, GPO Box U1987, Perth, Western Australia 6845, Australia.
| | - Hoe C Lee
- School of Occupational Therapy, Social Work and Speech Pathology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Curtin University, GPO Box U1987, Perth, Western Australia 6845, Australia
| | - Torbjörn Falkmer
- School of Occupational Therapy, Social Work and Speech Pathology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Curtin University, GPO Box U1987, Perth, Western Australia 6845, Australia; Pain and Rehabilitation Centre, and Department of Medical and Health Sciences, Linköping University, SE-58183 Linköping, Sweden
| | - Garry T Allison
- School of Physiotherapy and Exercise Science, Faculty of Health Sciences, Curtin University, GPO Box U1987, Perth, Western Australia 6845, Australia
| | - Tele Tan
- School of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Curtin University, GPO Box U1987, Perth, Western Australia 6845, Australia
| | - Wee Lih Lee
- School of Occupational Therapy, Social Work and Speech Pathology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Curtin University, GPO Box U1987, Perth, Western Australia 6845, Australia
| | - Susan L Morris
- School of Physiotherapy and Exercise Science, Faculty of Health Sciences, Curtin University, GPO Box U1987, Perth, Western Australia 6845, Australia.
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Optic flow detection is not influenced by visual-vestibular congruency. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0191693. [PMID: 29352317 PMCID: PMC5774822 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0191693] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2017] [Accepted: 01/09/2018] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Optic flow patterns generated by self-motion relative to the stationary environment result in congruent visual-vestibular self-motion signals. Incongruent signals can arise due to object motion, vestibular dysfunction, or artificial stimulation, which are less common. Hence, we are predominantly exposed to congruent rather than incongruent visual-vestibular stimulation. If the brain takes advantage of this probabilistic association, we expect observers to be more sensitive to visual optic flow that is congruent with ongoing vestibular stimulation. We tested this expectation by measuring the motion coherence threshold, which is the percentage of signal versus noise dots, necessary to detect an optic flow pattern. Observers seated on a hexapod motion platform in front of a screen experienced two sequential intervals. One interval contained optic flow with a given motion coherence and the other contained noise dots only. Observers had to indicate which interval contained the optic flow pattern. The motion coherence threshold was measured for detection of laminar and radial optic flow during leftward/rightward and fore/aft linear self-motion, respectively. We observed no dependence of coherence thresholds on vestibular congruency for either radial or laminar optic flow. Prior studies using similar methods reported both decreases and increases in coherence thresholds in response to congruent vestibular stimulation; our results do not confirm either of these prior reports. While methodological differences may explain the diversity of results, another possibility is that motion coherence thresholds are mediated by neural populations that are either not modulated by vestibular stimulation or that are modulated in a manner that does not depend on congruency.
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Does direction of walking impact binocular rivalry between competing patterns of optic flow? Atten Percept Psychophys 2017; 79:1182-1194. [PMID: 28197836 DOI: 10.3758/s13414-017-1299-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
When dissimilar monocular images are viewed simultaneously by the two eyes, stable binocular vision gives way to unstable vision characterized by alternations in dominance between the two images in a phenomenon called binocular rivalry. These alternations in perception reveal the existence of inhibitory interactions between neural representations associated with conflicting visual inputs. Binocular rivalry has been studied since the days of Wheatstone, but one recent strategy is to investigate its susceptibility to influences caused by one's own motor activity. This paper focused on the activity of walking, which produces an expected, characteristic direction of optic flow dependent upon the direction of one's walking. In a set of experiments, we employed virtual reality technology to present dichoptic stimuli to observers who walked forward, backward, or were sitting. Optic flow was presented to a given eye, and was sometimes congruent with the direction of walking, sometimes incongruent, and sometimes random, except when the participant was sitting. Our results indicate that, while walking had a reliable influence on rivalry dynamics, the predominance of congruent or incongruent motion did not.
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Holten V, Stuit SM, Verstraten FAJ, van der Smagt MJ. Grouping of optic flow stimuli during binocular rivalry is driven by monocular information. Vision Res 2016; 127:84-91. [PMID: 27520852 DOI: 10.1016/j.visres.2016.08.002] [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] [Received: 02/19/2015] [Revised: 08/01/2016] [Accepted: 08/04/2016] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
During binocular rivalry, perception alternates between two dissimilar images, presented dichoptically. Although binocular rivalry is thought to result from competition at a local level, neighboring image parts with similar features tend to be perceived together for longer durations than image parts with dissimilar features. This simultaneous dominance of two image parts is called grouping during rivalry. Previous studies have shown that this grouping depends on a shared eye-of-origin to a much larger extent than on image content, irrespective of the complexity of a static image. In the current study, we examine whether grouping of dynamic optic flow patterns is also primarily driven by monocular (eye-of-origin) information. In addition, we examine whether image parameters, such as optic flow direction, and partial versus full visibility of the optic flow pattern, affect grouping durations during rivalry. The results show that grouping of optic flow is, as is known for static images, primarily affected by its eye-of-origin. Furthermore, global motion can affect grouping durations, but only under specific conditions. Namely, only when the two full optic flow patterns were presented locally. These results suggest that grouping during rivalry is primarily driven by monocular information even for motion stimuli thought to rely on higher-level motion areas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vivian Holten
- Utrecht University, Division of Experimental Psychology, Helmholtz Institute, Heidelberglaan 1, 3584 CS Utrecht, The Netherlands.
| | - Sjoerd M Stuit
- Utrecht University, Division of Experimental Psychology, Helmholtz Institute, Heidelberglaan 1, 3584 CS Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Frans A J Verstraten
- The University of Sydney, School of Psychology, Griffith Taylor Building A19, NSW 2006, Sydney, Australia
| | - Maarten J van der Smagt
- Utrecht University, Division of Experimental Psychology, Helmholtz Institute, Heidelberglaan 1, 3584 CS Utrecht, The Netherlands
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