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M A Georgeson

Publications and source records attributed to M A Georgeson.

48 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1980

The graph-paper effect: subjective stereoscopic patterns induced by moving gratings.

Smooth tracking across an oblique grid pattern produced hallucinations of vertical and/or horizontal striations which moved with the eyes. The effect was produced by single or multiple gratings, monocularly or binocularly, but in the latter case it appeared to lie steresoscopically in the plane of fixation. Gratings containing thin lines or sawtooth edges of moderate contrast were particularly effective stimuli but sine or square waves were not. The subjective stripes had an apparent edge polarity which was opposite to that of the inducing edges or, with thin inducing lines, was determined by the lines' polarity and movement direction. Conventional explanations (eg strobe, afterimage, or moiré effects) can be ruled out. Neither the present effect nor the "pincushion-grid illusion" are due to the presence of spurious Fourier components in the stimulus pattern. An extension of a previous model, involving disinhibitory interaction between movement and pattern channels, accounts for many aspects of this elaborate phenomenon. The detailed dependence of polarity on spatial waveform and movement direction implies: (i) the spatial second harmonic is a necessary component, (ii) the generating is approximately linear and has 90 degree phase preference, and (iii) there is a movement-induced phase lag of about 45 degrees in the response to the second harmonic.

Depth Perception↗
PubMed1980

The perceived spatial frequency, contrast, and orientation of illusory gratings.

Illusory vertical gratings (V) and diagonal gratings (D) can be seen on a uniform field after inspection of a vertical grating. When using simultaneous and successive matching techniques the spatial frequencies of the V effect were found to be about 2 octaves below and 1-2 octaves above the adapting spatial frequency, but to be invariant with temporal frequency. At high adapting frequencies the D effect dominated, and was about 0.8 octave below the adapting spatial frequency, oriented about +/-35 degrees from vertical. The apparent contrast of V was about twice the value of the contrast threshold at its apparent spatial frequency. D effects seen during adaptation were about 60 degrees from vertical and 3 octaves below the adapting frequency. The results are interpreted in terms of inhibition and disinhibition in an organized matrix of tuned channels, and the dominant pattern of inhibition in the matrix is inferred. Supporting evidence from neurophysiology, neuroanatomy, and psychophysics is briefly reviewed. An appendix deals with the question of interocular transfer of the aftereffect.

Adaptation, Ocular↗
PubMed1978

Apparent foveofugal drift of counterphase gratings.

Counterphase gratings, and several other stimuli which consist of equal components of motion in both directions, appeared to drift foveofugally, rather than foveopetally, when presented to the retinal periphery. This 'foveofugal drift effect' was demonstrated by descriptive and nulling techniques and its magnitude was shown to vary across subjects. The effect was fairly brief under continuous fixation. Several lines of evidence suggested that eye movements were not responsible for the effect. The phenomenon implies a directional asymmetry in the human visual system which may be related to our consistent exposure to expanding patterns of visual flow.

Differential Threshold↗
PubMed1976

Psychohysical hallucinations of orientation and spatial frequency.

After inspection of vertical sinusoidal gratings at least three distinct types of subjective or "hallucinated" patterns can be seen on a uniform test field. One type, here called horizontal streaming (H), is already well-known from the work of MacKay. A second type (V) looks like aroughly sinusoidal grating about 1-5 octaves above the adapting spitial frequency. Under optimal conditions a second vertical component appears at about 2 octaves below the adapting frequency. The third category of aftereffect consists of diagonal lines (D) at two orientations (about +/-40 degrees from vertical). The spatial-frequency band at these two orientations appears to be fairly broad, but roughly similar to the adapting frequency. The duration and strength of D increased, while V declined, at higher adapting spatial frequencies. D and V were increasing functions of adapting contrast, while H appeared abruptly only after the highest adapting contrast. H, D, and V are thus all functionally distinct. A schematic model of cortical organization is proposed to account for these phenomena. Pattern channels selective for a given orientation are grouped together with movement channels selective for the orthogonal direction. Antagonism between channels within such "modules" accounts for the streaming effect (H). Inhibition between modules tuned to different orientations and spatial frequencies accounts for the D and V effects: after adaptation of channels in one module, neighbouring module(s) are released from inhibition to produce a spurious response which is seen as a grating-like object in the adapted part of the visual field. During flickering adaptation a "halluncinated" lattice can be seen superimposed on the adapting grating. It apparently consists of Fourier components more remote from the adapting pattern than D and V are. This disinhibitory effect is strong confirmation of the inhibitory model. The regular and highly organized matrix of channels implied by these experiments may constitute a cortical hypercolumn conducting a coarse, piecewise Fourier transformation of the retinal image.

Figural Aftereffect↗
PubMed1975

Contrast constancy: deblurring in human vision by spatial frequency channels.

The perception of contrast was measured in humans by a technique of subjective contrast-matching, and was compared with contrast sensitivity as defined by threshold measures. 2. Contrast-matching between different spatial frequencies was performed correctly (especially at frequencies above 5 c/deg) despite the attenuation by optical and neural factors which cause large differences in contrast thresholds. 3. Contrast-matching between single lines of different widths was also veridical, and was not limited by the spatial integration (Ricco's Law) present at threshold. Adaptation to gratings altered the appearance of lines, and this could be best understood in Fourier terms. 4. The generality of these results was shown by matching the contrast of pictures which had been filtered so that each contained a one octave band of spatial frequencies. 5. Within the limits imposed by threshold and resolution, contrast-matching was largely independent of luminance and position on the retina. 6. Six out of eleven astigmatic observers showed considerable suprathreshold compensation for their orientation-specific neural deficit in contrast sensitivity. 7. These results define a new property of vision: contrast constancy. It is argued that spatial frequency channels in the visual cortex are organized to compensate for earlier attenuation. This achieves a dramatic 'deblurring' of the image, and optimizes the clarity of vision.

Astigmatism↗