NASA Logo

NTRS

NTRS - NASA Technical Reports Server

Back to Results
Path perception during rotation: influence of instructions, depth range, and dot densityHow do observers perceive their direction of self-motion when traveling on a straight path while their eyes are rotating? Our previous findings suggest that information from retinal flow and extra-retinal information about eye movements are each sufficient to solve this problem for both perception and active control of self-motion [Vision Res. 40 (2000) 3873; Psych. Sci. 13 (2002) 485]. In this paper, using displays depicting translation with simulated eye rotation, we investigated how task variables such as instructions, depth range, and dot density influenced the visual system's reliance on retinal vs. extra-retinal information for path perception during rotation. We found that path errors were small when observers expected to travel on a straight path or with neutral instructions, but errors increased markedly when observers expected to travel on a curved path. Increasing depth range or dot density did not improve path judgments. We conclude that the expectation of the shape of an upcoming path can influence the interpretation of the ambiguous retinal flow. A large depth range and dense motion parallax are not essential for accurate path perception during rotation, but reference objects and a large field of view appear to improve path judgments.
Document ID
20050153369
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Authors
Li, Li
(Brown University Box 1978, Providence, RI 02912, United States)
Warren, William H Jr
Date Acquired
August 23, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 2004
Publication Information
Publication: Vision research
Volume: 44
Issue: 16
ISSN: 0042-6989
Subject Category
Life Sciences (General)
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: K02 MH01353
CONTRACT_GRANT: EY10923
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

Available Downloads

There are no available downloads for this record.
No Preview Available