Abstract
When two objects are presented in alternation at two locations, they are seen as a single object moving from one location to the other. This apparent motion (AM) percept is experienced for objects located at short and also at long distances. However, current models cannot explain how the brain integrates information over large distances to create such long-range AM. This study investigates the neural markers of AM by parcelling out the contribution of spatial and temporal interactions not specific to motion. In two experiments, participants’ EEG was recorded while they viewed two stimuli inducing AM. Different combinations of these stimuli were also shown in a static context to predict an AM neural response where no motion is perceived. We compared the goodness of fit between these different predictions and found consistent results in both experiments. At short-range, the addition of the inhibitory spatial and temporal interactions not specific to motion improved the AM prediction. However, there was no indication that spatial or temporal non-linear interactions were present at long-range. This suggests that short- and long-range AM rely on different neural mechanisms. Importantly, our results also show that at both short- and long-range, responses generated by a moving stimulus could be well predicted from conditions in which no motion is perceived. That is, the EEG response to a moving stimulus is simply a combination of individual responses to non-moving stimuli. This demonstrates a dissociation between the brain response and the subjective percept of motion.
Highlights
Apparent motion (AM) is the perception of an object moving from one location to another location distant in space and/or in time (Sekuler, 1996)
We investigated the neural mechanisms underlying apparent motion (AM) at short and long-range
We found that while inhibitory temporal interactions unrelated to motion are important in predicting short-range AM, non-linear interactions do not improve the predictions for long-range AM
Summary
Apparent motion (AM) is the perception of an object moving from one location to another location distant in space and/or in time (Sekuler, 1996). This phenomenon is evoked only for a specific range of temporal parameters. AM is largely immune to the identity of the objects (Chong et al, 2014; Hidaka et al, 2011; Kolers and Pomerantz, 1971; Nishida et al, 2007; Tse and Caplovitz, 2006) and can be perceived for two objects separated by short or long spatial distances, even though different mechanisms might underlie these short and long-range motion systems (Braddick, 1974; Kolers, 1972; Larsen et al, 1983; Zhuo et al, 2003; but see Cavanagh and Mather, 1989). The aim of this study is to a) uncover the neural mechanisms underlying the percept of AM by controlling for temporal and spatial factors not specific to motion perception and b) determine the differences and similarities in these neural mechanisms for stimuli separated by short and long spatial distances
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