Perceptual-Motor Integration

The role of adaptation in conscious bistable stereoscopic perception

Co-ordinator: R. van Ee
Investigator: T.H.J. Knapen
Period: 2003 / 2007
Collaboration:  
Funding: HIPO
Description:  

Understanding conscious visual processing is a challenging problem in vision science. Recently we have developed an experimental paradigm to study conscious selection of bi-stable percepts in stereoscopic vision. The paradigm exploits a visual stimulus in which we independently manipulated two signals that our brain uses to retrieve the 3D layout of a scene. One of the signals is binocular disparity (i.e. according to the geometry of vision with two frontal eyes) and the other is monocular perspective. A novel feature of the paradigm is that our observers were able to attentively select one of the two alternative percepts at will in a well-controlled way. Our paradigm provides therefore an ideal tool to study conscious vision psychophysically. Here we attempt to examine the role of adaptation in conscious stereoscopic perceptiën. We will concentrate on the integration of disparity and monocular depth cues in the motion after effect.