Masking, aftereffect, and illusion in visual perception of curvature

Abstract

Masking, aftereffect, and illusion paradigms were used to establish the spatial selectivity of curvature detectors in human vision. Arcs with the same chord orientation mask each other maximally when they are identical in radius and direction of curvature. There is gradual reduction in masking over an extensive spatial range as arcs diverge in curvature. The transition from convexity to concavity does not produce discontinuity in the masking function. The extent to which a straight line appears curved also depends on the curvature of arcs shown previously (aftereffect) or at the same time (illusion). It is suggested that these effects could occur through selective adaptation of detectors responsive to either global curvature or the orientation of local straight-line approximations within an arc. Evidence is reviewed in support of the latter interpretation.