Ideal observer for discrimination of the global direction of dynamic random-dot stimuli.

Random-dot cinematograms in which each dot's successive movements are randomly drawn from a Gaussian distribution of directions can produce a percept of global coherent motion in a single direction. Discrimination of global direction was measured for various exposure durations, stimulus areas, and dot densities and bandwidths of the distribution of directions. Increasing the duration produced a greater improvement in performance than did increasing either the area or the density. Performance decreased as the distribution bandwidth increased. An ideal-observer model was developed, and the absolute efficiency for human direction discrimination was evaluated. Efficiencies were highest at large distribution bandwidths, with average efficiencies reaching 35%. A local-global noise model of direction discrimination, based on the ideal-observer model, containing a spatial and temporal integration limit as well as internal noise, was found to fit the human data well. The utility of ideal-observer analyses for psychophysical tasks and the interpretation of efficiencies is discussed.

[1]  Scott N. J. Watamaniuk,et al.  Temporal and spatial integration in dynamic random-dot stimuli , 1992, Vision Research.

[2]  John H. R. Maunsell,et al.  Coding of image contrast in central visual pathways of the macaque monkey , 1990, Vision Research.

[3]  Scott N. J. Watamaniuk,et al.  Direction Perception in Complex Dynamic Displays: the Integration of Dir~~tion Information , 1988 .

[4]  W. Geisler.  Sequential ideal-observer analysis of visual discriminations. , 1989, Psychological review.

[5]  Norberto M. Grzywacz,et al.  A computational theory for the perception of coherent visual motion , 1988, Nature.

[6]  Wilson S. Geisler,et al.  The physical limits of grating visibility , 1987, Vision Research.

[7]  R. Sekuler,et al.  Direction-specific improvement in motion discrimination , 1987, Vision Research.

[8]  W. Newsome,et al.  Motion selectivity in macaque visual cortex. II. Spatiotemporal range of directional interactions in MT and V1. , 1986, Journal of neurophysiology.

[9]  E. Adelson,et al.  The analysis of moving visual patterns , 1985 .

[10]  Robert Sekuler,et al.  Coherent global motion percepts from stochastic local motions , 1984, Vision Research.

[11]  W S Geisler,et al.  Physical limits of acuity and hyperacuity. , 1984, Journal of the Optical Society of America. A, Optics and image science.

[12]  H. Wilson,et al.  Spatial frequency tuning of orientation selective units estimated by oblique masking , 1983, Vision Research.

[13]  S. McKee.  A local mechanism for differential velocity detection , 1981, Vision Research.

[14]  H. Barlow,et al.  The statistical efficiency for detecting sinusoidal modulation of average dot density in random figures , 1981, Vision Research.

[15]  R. F. Wagner,et al.  Efficiency of human visual signal discrimination. , 1981, Science.

[16]  C. Gross,et al.  Visual topography of striate projection zone (MT) in posterior superior temporal sulcus of the macaque. , 1981, Journal of neurophysiology.

[17]  John H. R. Maunsell,et al.  The middle temporal visual area in the macaque: Myeloarchitecture, connections, functional properties and topographic organization , 1981, The Journal of comparative neurology.

[18]  H. Barlow.  The absolute efficiency of perceptual decisions. , 1980, Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences.

[19]  H. Barlow,et al.  The versatility and absolute efficiency of detecting mirror symmetry in random dot displays , 1979, Vision Research.

[20]  H. Barlow.  The efficiency of detecting changes of density in random dot patterns , 1978, Vision Research.

[21]  Jacob Nachmias,et al.  Signal Detection Theory and its Application to Problems in Vision , 1972 .

[22]  A. Rose.  The sensitivity performance of the human eye on an absolute scale. , 1948, Journal of the Optical Society of America.

[23]  S. Hecht,et al.  ENERGY, QUANTA, AND VISION , 1942, The Journal of general physiology.

[24]  A. Rose,et al.  The Relative Sensitivities of Television Pickup Tubes, Photographic Film, and the Human Eye , 1942, Proceedings of the IRE.