Role of motion integration in contour perception

Abstract

Contours are believed to play a key role in the visual analysis of scenes by the primate brain. In dynamic scenes, the presence of contours is often signaled by discontinuities in motion fields. However, it is unclear whether the motion fields over which the visual system extracts discontinuities, correspond to the local optic-flow or the pattern motion fields obtained by integrating local estimates. A resolution of this issue would provide important clues about the organization of visual motion and form analysis processes. In this paper, we present experimental evidence which suggests that the perception of motion defined contours is strongly dependent on motion integration — an operation that is believed to take place relatively late in the visual stream.