The visual perception of three-dimensional shape from self-motion and object-motion

Vision Res. 1994 Sep;34(18):2331-6. doi: 10.1016/0042-6989(94)90279-8.

Abstract

To evaluate the influence of egomotion on the three-dimensional visual processing of structure-from-motion (SFM), we compared the visual discrimination between planar and spherical surfaces during subject-translation, object-translation, or rotation of the object in depth. Performance was the best for object-rotation, intermediate for subject-translation, and the poorest for object-translation--and thus increased with the quality of retinal image stabilization achieved in the different conditions. This suggests that the major role of self-motion information was to stabilize retinal images. In view of previous results, we propose that the interactions between self-motion information and SFM are reduced to functional complementarity, in the sense that self-motion can lift visual ambiguities but does not improve the sensitivity of SFM processes.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Depth Perception / physiology*
  • Discrimination, Psychological
  • Form Perception / physiology*
  • Humans
  • Movement*
  • Retina / physiology
  • Rotation