Disambiguating Visual Motion by Form-Motion Interaction—a Computational Model

Abstract

The neural mechanisms underlying motion segregation and integration still remain unclear to a large extent. Local motion estimates often are ambiguous in the lack of form features, such as corners or junctions. Furthermore, even in the presence of such features, local motion estimates may be wrong if they were generated near occlusions or from transparent objects. Here, a neural model of visual motion processing is presented that involves early stages of the cortical dorsal and ventral pathways. We investigate the computational mechanisms of V1-MT feedforward and feedback processing in the perception of coherent shape motion. In particular, we demonstrate how modulatory MT-V1 feedback helps to stabilize localized feature signals at, e.g. corners, and to disambiguate initial flow estimates that signal ambiguous movement due to the aperture problem for single shapes. In cluttered environments with multiple moving objects partial occlusions may occur which, in turn, generate erroneous motion signals at points of overlapping form. Intrinsic-extrinsic region boundaries are indicated by local T-junctions of possibly any orientation and spatial configuration. Such junctions generate strong localized feature tracking signals that inject erroneous motion directions into the integration process. We describe a simple local mechanism of excitatory form-motion interaction that modifies spurious motion cues at T-junctions. In concert with local competitive-cooperative mechanisms of the motion pathway the motion signals are subsequently segregated into coherent representations of moving shapes. Computer simulations demonstrate the competency of the proposed neural model.