Dichoptic activation of the early motion system

Abstract

The short range or early motion system has long been considered incapable of binocular integration. We have developed dichoptic motion stimuli which are based upon the decomposition of traveling sinewave gratings into the sum of two standing waves in spatial and temporal quadrature. The monocular views of such displays appear as counterphase flicker but when presented dichoptically the perception is of movement in a unique direction. Two lines of evidence are presented for the binocularity of early motion mechanisms in human vision. First, adaptation to dichoptic motion sinewave gratings is found to result in a motion aftereffect. Second, random texture motion displays based on the quadrature decomposition are found to support dichoptic perception of motion direction, but not figure/ground. Unlike random dot kinematograms, these displays do not necessitate alternating the direction of motion during dichoptic presentation. This encumbrance, and the reliance on figure/ground discrimination, may have been responsible for prior failure to achieve dichoptic motion perception with short range stimuli.