Cortical dynamics of three-dimensional form, color, and brightness perception: I. Monocular theory.

Abstract

A real-time visual processing theory is developed to explain how three-dimensional form, color, and brightness percepts are coherently synthesized. The theory describes how several fundamental uncertainty principles which limit the computation of visual information at individual processing stages are resolved through parallel and hierarchical interactions among several processing stages. The theory hereby provides a unified analysis and many predictions of data about stereopsis, binocular rivalry, hyperacuity, McCollough effect, textural grouping, border distinctness, surface perception, monocular and binocular brightness percepts, filling-in, metacontrast, transparency, figural aftereffects, lateral inhibition within spatial frequency channels, proximity-luminance covariance, tissue contrast, motion segmentation, and illusory figures, as well as about reciprocal interactions among the hypercolumns, blobs, and stripes of cortical areas VI, V2, and V4. Monocular and binocular interactions between a Boundary Contour (BC) System and a Feature Contour (FC) System are developed. The BC System, defined by a hierarchy of oriented interactions, synthesizes an emergent and coherent binocular boundary segmentation from combinations of unoriented and oriented scenic elements. These BC System interactions instantiate a new theory of stereopsis and of how mechanisms of stereopsis are related to mechanisms of boundary segmentation. Interactions between the BC System and the FC System explain why boundary completion and segmentation processes become binocular at an earlier processing stage than do color and brightness perception processes. The new stereopsis theory includes a new model of how chromatically broadband cortical complex cells can be adaptively tuned to multiplex information about position, orientation, spatial frequency, positional disparity, and orientational disparity. These binocular cells input to spatially short-range competitive interactions (within orientations and between positions, followed by between orientations and within positions) that initiate suppression of binocular double images as they complete boundaries at scenic line ends and corners. The competitive interactions interact via both feedforward and feedback pathways with spatially long-range-oriented cooperative gating interactions that generate a coherent, multiple-scale, three-dimensional boundary segmentation as they complete the suppression of double-image boundaries. The completed BC System boundary segmentation generates output signals, called filling-in generators (FIGs) and filling-in barriers (FIBs), along parallel pathways to two successive FC System stages: the monocular syncytium and the binocular syncytium. FIB signals at the monocular syncytium suppress monocular color and brightness signals that are binocularly inconsistent and select binocularly consistent, monocular FC signals as outputs to the binocular syncytium. Binocular matching of these FC signals further suppresses binocularly inconsistent color and brightness signals. Binocular FC contour signals that survive these multiple suppressive events interact with FEB signals at the binocular syncytium to fill-in a multiple-scale representation of form-and-color-in-depth. To achieve these properties, distinct syncytia correspond to each spatial scale of the BC System. Each syncytium is composed of opponent subsyncytia that generate output signals through a network of double-opponent cells. Although composed of unoriented wavelength-sensitive cells, double-opponent networks detect oriented properties of form when they interact with FIG signals, yet also generate nonselective properties of binocular rivalry. Electrotonic and chemical transmitter interactions within the syncytia are formally akin to interactions in HI horizontal cells of turtle retina. The cortical syncytia are hypothesized to be encephalizations of ancestral retinal syncytia. In addition to double-opponent-cell networks, electrotonic syncytial interactions, and resistive gating signals due to BC System outputs, the FC System processes also include habituative transmitters and non-Hebbian adaptive filters that maintain the positional and chromatic selectivity of FC interactions. Alternative perceptual theories are evaluated in light of these results. The theoretical circuits provide qualitatively new design principles and architectures for computer vision applications.