An MEG study into the visual perception of apparent motion in depth

Abstract

This study investigated (1) the responses associated with the perception of motion in depth induced by a series of scale-changing paradigms, and (2) the locations of the dipoles in the brain elicited by stimuli of motion in depth and in-plane motion. The former was determined using two types of stimulation: real motion and apparent motion in scale (AMS; where two frames with size-changed patterns were presented alternately); and the latter was determined by moving a full-field checkerboard pattern forward or rightward smoothly with the same time course. The results from analyzing magnetoencephalography (MEG) component M160 to differentiate the signals of perception can be summarized as follows: (1) the neurons stimulated by apparent motion (AM) might be similar to those stimulated by a real motion, since there was no statistical difference associated with the signals at M160 and the dipole locations; (2) the perceptional signal of motion in depth seems to be more sensitive when scale-changing information is present; and (3) asymmetrical responses are present in the visual system, with responses being more sensitive to expanding stimuli than to contracting ones, and with the activity being more prominent in the right occipitotemporal area. Overall, this study indicates that the responses evoked by the stimuli causing motion in depth are allocated more to area V3a rather to area V5.