Spatial frequency interference on grating-induction

Spatial frequency interference and facilitation in suprathreshold vision were studied using the grating-induction effect [McCourt, Vision Res. 22, 119-134 (1982)] as a sensitive probe. The effects on grating-induction magnitude produced by variations in "interfering" and "inducing" grating spatial frequency, contrast and phase were examined in four experiments. A limited range of high spatial frequency interfering gratings reduced the contrast of gratings induced by spatially coextensive lower frequency inducing gratings. Both phase-dependent and phase-independent interference was observed. Facilitation of grating-induction was produced by interfering gratings of lower frequency than the inducing grating. It is hypothesized that the grating-induction interference effect is due to inhibition of the low spatial frequency selective mechanisms responsible for induction, by channels tuned to higher frequencies. The functional significance of induction and spatial frequency inhibition is discussed, and a mathematical description of the results is presented.

[1]  P. O. Bishop,et al.  End-zone region in receptive fields of hypercomplex and other striate neurons in the cat. , 1979, Journal of neurophysiology.

[2]  J. Robson,et al.  Application of fourier analysis to the visibility of gratings , 1968, The Journal of physiology.

[3]  N. Weisstein,et al.  Masking independent of both separation and spatial frequency , 1979, Vision Research.

[4]  H B Barlow,et al.  Threshold setting by the surround of cat retinal ganglion cells. , 1976, The Journal of physiology.

[5]  R Hilz,et al.  Functional organization of the peripheral retina: sensitivity to periodic stimuli. , 1974, Vision research.

[6]  D. Tolhurst,et al.  Interactions between spatial frequency channels , 1978, Vision Research.

[7]  A Vassilev,et al.  Adaptation to square-wave gratings: in search of the elusive third harmonic. , 1973, Vision research.

[8]  F. Campbell,et al.  The effect of phase on the perception of compound gratings. , 1974, Vision research.

[9]  M. McCourt.  A spatial frequency dependent grating-induction effect , 1982, Vision Research.

[10]  K. D. De Valois,et al.  Spatial‐frequency‐specific inhibition in cat striate cortex cells. , 1983, The Journal of physiology.

[11]  J. Movshon,et al.  Spatial and temporal contrast sensitivity of neurones in areas 17 and 18 of the cat's visual cortex. , 1978, The Journal of physiology.

[12]  P. O. Bishop,et al.  Hypercomplex and simple/complex cell classifications in cat striate cortex. , 1978, Journal of neurophysiology.

[13]  N Milkman,et al.  Attenuation of Mach bands by adjacent stimuli. , 1983, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[14]  D. H. Kelly.  Visual Contrast Sensitivity , 1977 .

[15]  M White,et al.  The Effect of the Nature of the Surround on the Perceived Lightness of Grey Bars within Square-Wave Test Gratings , 1981, Perception.

[16]  F. Ratliff.  Why mach bands are not seen at the edges of a step , 1984, Vision Research.

[17]  J. M. Foley,et al.  Contrast masking in human vision. , 1980, Journal of the Optical Society of America.

[18]  C. A. Burbeck,et al.  Motion and vision. III. Stabilized pattern adaptation. , 1980, Journal of the Optical Society of America.

[19]  J J Koenderink,et al.  Contrast enhancement and the negative afterimage. , 1972, Journal of the Optical Society of America.

[20]  D. Tolhurst.  Adaptation to square‐wave gratings: inhibition between spatial frequency channels in the human visual system , 1972, The Journal of physiology.

[21]  A. Oppenheim,et al.  Nonlinear filtering of multiplied and convolved signals , 1968 .

[22]  R. Lange,et al.  Composite adaptation and spatial frequency interactions. , 1973, Vision research.

[23]  D. G. Albrecht,et al.  Striate cortex responses to periodic patterns with and without the fundamental harmonics , 1981, The Journal of physiology.

[24]  R. Marimont,et al.  Model for visual response to contrast. , 1962, Journal of the Optical Society of America.

[25]  M. Georgeson,et al.  Contrast constancy: deblurring in human vision by spatial frequency channels. , 1975, The Journal of physiology.

[26]  R. G. Waarts,et al.  Contrast detection and its dependence on the presence of edges and lines in the stimulus field , 1983, Vision Research.

[27]  David C. Burr,et al.  Added noise restores recognizability of coarse quantized images , 1983, Nature.

[28]  R. Blake,et al.  A novel illusion of bars made from triangles. , 1981, Science.

[29]  Jeffrey A. Sloan,et al.  Spatial frequency analysis of the visual environment: Anisotropy and the carpentered environment hypothesis , 1978, Vision Research.

[30]  S. Laughlin,et al.  Predictive coding: a fresh view of inhibition in the retina , 1982, Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B. Biological Sciences.

[31]  P. O. Bishop,et al.  Dimensions and properties of end-zone inhibitory areas in receptive fields of hypercomplex cells in cat striate cortex. , 1979, Journal of neurophysiology.

[32]  C. A. Burbeck,et al.  Spatiotemporal characteristics of visual mechanisms: excitatory-inhibitory model. , 1980, Journal of the Optical Society of America.

[33]  J. M. Foley,et al.  Visual grating induction. , 1985, Journal of the Optical Society of America. A, Optics and image science.

[34]  E Switkes,et al.  Spatial frequency specific interaction of dot patterns and gratings. , 1980, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[35]  M. White,et al.  A New Effect of Pattern on Perceived Lightness , 1979, Perception.

[36]  B Julesz,et al.  Masking in Visual Recognition: Effects of Two-Dimensional Filtered Noise , 1973, Science.

[37]  B. Dreher.  Hypercomplex cells in the cat's striate cortex. , 1972, Investigative ophthalmology.