Mechanisms underlying simultaneous brightness contrast: Early and innate
Name
nihms-1594579.pdf
Description
Accepted version
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1.21 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
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Author(s)
Sinha, Pawan
Crucilla, Sarah
Gandhi, Tapan
Rose, Dylan
Singh, Amy
Ganesh, Suma
Mathur, Umang
Bex, Peter
Date Issued
2020
Journal
Vision Research
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Citation
Sinha, Pawan, Crucilla, Sarah, Gandhi, Tapan, Rose, Dylan, Singh, Amy et al. 2020. "Mechanisms underlying simultaneous brightness contrast: Early and innate." Vision Research, 173.
Version
Author's final manuscript
Abstract
In the phenomenon of simultaneous brightness contrast, two patches, one on a dark background and the other on a light one, appear to have different brightness despite being physically equi-luminant. Elucidating the phenomenon's underlying mechanisms is relevant for the larger question of how the visual system makes photometric judgments in images. Accounts over the past century have spanned low-, mid- and high-level visual processes, but a definitive resolution has not emerged. We present three studies that collectively demonstrate that the computations underlying this phenomenon are low-level, instantiated prior to binocular fusion, and available innately, without need for inferential learning via an individual's visual experience. In our first two studies, we find that strong brightness induction is obtained even when observers are unaware of any luminance differences in the neighborhoods of the probe patches. Results with dichoptic displays reveal that eye of origin, although not evident consciously, has a marked influence on the eventual brightness percept of the probe patches, thereby localizing brightness estimation to a site preceding binocular fusion. The third study uses conventional simultaneous brightness contrast displays, but an unusual group of participants: Congenitally blind children whom we were able to treat surgically. The results demonstrate an immediate susceptibility to the simultaneous brightness illusion after sight onset. Together, these data strongly constrain the search for mechanisms underlying a fundamental brightness phenomenon.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences
Terms of Use
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License
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DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1016/J.VISRES.2020.04.012
