Physiological Mechanisms Underlying Motion-Induced Blindness

Camilo Libedinsky,Tristram Savage,Margaret Livingstone

doi:10.1038/npre.2008.1506.1

Abstract

AbstractVisual disappearance illusions - such as motion-induced blindness (MIB) - are commonly used to study the neural underpinnings of visual perception. In such illusions a salient visual target becomes perceptually invisible. Previous studies are inconsistent regarding the role of primary visual cortex (V1) in these illusions. Here we provide physiological and psychophysical evidence supporting a role for V1 in generating MIB.

Highlights

Visual disappearance illusions – such as motion-induced blindness (MIB) - are commonly used to study the neural underpinnings of visual perception
Motion-induced blindness (MIB) is a phenomenon of visual disappearance in which a salient target becomes intermittently invisible when surrounded by a field of rotating distractors[1]
We varied the fixation location so that the mask and target were both on the same side of the midline, or on opposite sides of the midline, and we found that the target disappeared significantly less often when it was on the opposite side of the vertical midline from the mask, compared to the same-side condition (Figure 1F)

Summary

Introduction

Visual disappearance illusions – such as motion-induced blindness (MIB) - are commonly used to study the neural underpinnings of visual perception. We noticed that in the presence of the MIB mask, the responses of the V1 cells to actual appearances and disappearances of the target were often attenuated compared to the mask-absent condition, so we asked whether the mask might weaken or interfere with neural responses to the target in V1.

Results

Conclusion