Abstract
Previous work has shown that human vision performs spatial integration of luminance contrast energy, where signals are squared and summed (with internal noise) over area at detection threshold. We tested that model here in an experiment using arrays of micro-pattern textures that varied in overall stimulus area and sparseness of their target elements, where the contrast of each element was normalised for sensitivity across the visual field. We found a power-law improvement in performance with stimulus area, and a decrease in sensitivity with sparseness. While the contrast integrator model performed well when target elements constituted 50–100% of the target area (replicating previous results), observers outperformed the model when texture elements were sparser than this. This result required the inclusion of further templates in our model, selective for grids of various regular texture densities. By assuming a MAX operation across these noisy mechanisms the model also accounted for the increase in the slope of the psychometric function that occurred as texture density decreased. Thus, for the first time, mechanisms that are selective for texture density have been revealed at contrast detection threshold. We suggest that these mechanisms have a role to play in the perception of visual textures.
Original language | English |
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Article number | 29764 |
Number of pages | 10 |
Journal | Scientific Reports |
Volume | 6 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 27 Jul 2016 |
Bibliographical note
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in the credit line; if the material is not included under the Creative Commons license, users will need to obtain permission from the license holder to reproduce the material. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Funding: EPSRC (EP/H000038/1), Wellcome Trust (ref: 105624)
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Grid-texture mechanisms in human vision: Contrast detection of regular sparse micro-patterns requires specialist templates
Baker, D. H. (Creator) & Meese, T. S. (Creator), 2016
DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.1587105, https://www.nature.com/articles/srep29764
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