Effect of image orientation on the eye direction aftereffect

Area of Science:

• Visual perception
• Cognitive neuroscience
• Human psychophysics

Background:

• The eye direction aftereffect (EDAE) demonstrates how adapting to eye gaze direction influences subsequent perception.
• Previous research primarily focused on upright faces, leaving the role of reference frames in EDAE under rotated conditions less understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the reference frames (object-based vs. viewer-centered) underlying the EDAE when adaptation stimuli are rotated.
• To determine if different rotation angles influence the level of perceptual processing involved in EDAE.

Main Methods:

• Participants viewed faces with eyes looking left or right (adaptation stimuli) that were rotated 0, 90, or 180 degrees.
• The EDAE was measured using upright test stimuli, assessing perceived eye direction after adaptation.
• Perceived eye direction shifts were analyzed to infer the reference frame used during adaptation.

Main Results:

• For 90-degree rotations, EDAE indicated adaptation in an object-based (face-based) reference frame.
• For 180-degree rotations, EDAE suggested adaptation occurred within a viewer-centered reference frame.
• The findings reveal a shift in reference frame use depending on the degree of stimulus rotation.

Conclusions:

• The EDAE can be mediated by both object-based and viewer-centered reference frames.
• Object-based adaptation, observed with up to 90-degree rotations, suggests engagement of higher-level processing mechanisms.
• The reference frame utilized in EDAE is flexible and depends on the spatial relationship between the adaptation and test stimuli.