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Afterimage size is modulated by size-contrast illusions.

Irene Sperandio1, Armin Lak, Melvyn A Goodale

  • 1The Brain and Mind Institute and the Department of Psychology, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada. irene.sperandio@gmail.com

Journal of Vision
|February 23, 2012
PubMed
Summary

The perceived size of negative afterimages is influenced by surrounding context, not just projection distance. High-level cognitive processes, beyond retinal stimulation, play a crucial role in afterimage size perception.

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Area of Science:

  • Visual Perception
  • Cognitive Neuroscience
  • Psychophysics

Background:

  • Emmert's law traditionally explains afterimage size based on projection distance.
  • Previous research has not fully explored contextual influences on afterimage perception.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate whether the surrounding context modulates the perceived size of negative afterimages.
  • To differentiate between retinal and post-retinal influences on afterimage size perception.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized a modified Ebbinghaus-Titchener illusion with flickering surrounds and a static inner target.
  • Employed manual size estimations of the target and its subsequent afterimage.
  • Conducted experiments to isolate the effects of context during induction versus viewing, and flickering stimuli alone.

Main Results:

  • Perceived afterimage size was modulated by the size-contrast illusion, regardless of whether context was present during induction or viewing.
  • Flickering stimuli alone did not induce aftereffects on perceived size.
  • Memory effects from adaptation phase estimations were ruled out as the cause of modulation.

Conclusions:

  • Contextual modulation of afterimage size extends beyond Emmert's law.
  • High-level cognitive processes significantly influence perceived afterimage size, operating post-retinally.
  • Afterimage perception involves complex interactions between sensory input and cognitive interpretation.