A common mechanism for perceptual filling-in and motion-induced blindness

Perceptual-filling-in (PFI) and motion-induced-blindness (MIB) are two phenomena of temporary blindness in which, after prolonged viewing, perceptually salient targets repeatedly disappear and reappear, amidst a field of distracters (i.e., non-targets). Past studies have shown that boundary adaptation is important in PFI, and that depth ordering between target and distracter pattern is important in MIB. Here we show that the reverse is also true; that boundary adaptation is important in MIB, and that depth ordering is important in PFI. Results corroborate our earlier conjecture that PFI and MIB are highly related phenomena that share a common underlying mechanism. We argue that this mechanism involves boundary adaptation, but also that the depth effect shows that boundary adaptation can be no more than a sufficient cause of PFI and MIB, and not a necessary one.