Adaptation to the induced effect stimulus normalizes surface slant perception and recalibrates eye position signals for azimuth

Abstract

A frontoparallel plane viewed with unequal vertical magnification of the two ocular images appears rotated about a vertical axis (i.e., induced effect; Ogle, 1938). Several experiments were conducted to investigate changes in the visual system that occurred after adapting to the induced effect. Adaptation at 57 cm was tested using tall stimuli at various viewing distances to test for the adaptation of vertical size ratio (VSR) information and normalization of the slant percept. When aftereffects were expressed in units of slant, they were larger at 57 cm than other test distances and were not significantly different from each other at other distances. Short stimuli were used to test adaptation of eye position signals for azimuth. The aftereffects were in the opposite direction to those measured with tall stimuli. The combined results suggest that the visual system normalizes slant percepts based on the surface slant of the adaptation stimulus and when there is a conflict between VSR signals and eye position cues for azimuth that the primary eye position signal for azimuth is recalibrated toward the direction indicated by the binocular differential vertical magnification in the adaptation stimulus.