Collinear Motion Strengthens Local Context in Visual Detection

Detection of elongated objects in the visual scene can be improved by additional elements flanking the object on the collinear axis. This is the collinear context effect (CE) and is represented in the long-range horizontal connection plexus in V1. The aim of this study was to test whether the visual collinear motion can improve the CE. In the three experiments of this study, the flank was presented with different types of motion. In particular, the collinear motion aligned with the longitudinal axis of the to-be-detected object: toward or away from it, and the orthogonal motion with a direction perpendicular to the collinear axis. Only collinear motion toward the target showed a robust and replicable empowerment of the CE. This dynamic modulation of the CE likely is implemented in the long-range horizontal connection plexus in V1, but, given that in addition it conveys the time information of motion, there must be a direct feedback in V1 from higher visual areas where motion perception is implemented, such as Middle Temporal (MT). Elongated visual objects moving along their longitudinal axis favor a propagation of activation in front of them via a network of interconnected units that allows the visual system to predict future positions of relevant items in the visual scene.