Related Experiment Video
Updated: Nov 5, 2025
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Methods to Explore the Influence of Top-down Visual Processes on Motor Behavior
Published on: April 16, 2014
26.5K
Priming of the Sander Parallelogram illusion separates perception from action
Shannon A Senanayake1, Tiffany Carther-Krone2, Jonathan J Marotta2
1Perception and Action Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, R3T 2N2, Canada. shannonakiva16@gmail.com.
Experimental Brain Research
|May 20, 2021
Summary
Visual illusions and priming affect manual estimations more than grasping actions. This suggests interactions between the dorsal and ventral visual streams, challenging the hypothesis of dorsal stream immunity.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Psychology
- Visual Perception
Background:
- The two-visual stream hypothesis distinguishes dorsal (action) and ventral (perception) processing.
- Previous research examined visual illusions and priming independently.
- The interaction between these streams under combined perceptual manipulations remains unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate interactions between the dorsal and ventral visual streams.
- To examine susceptibility of visually guided actions to illusions and priming.
- To test if combined perceptual stimuli influence dorsally guided actions.
Main Methods:
- Thirty-four participants performed manual estimations and grasping actions.
- Stimuli included the Sander Parallelogram illusion and visual priming.
- Experimental trials involved congruent and incongruent prime-stimulus pairings.
Main Results:
- Manual estimations were influenced by both illusion and priming.
- Grasping actions were affected by the illusion but not priming.
- Illusion's impact on grip aperture was greater in estimations than grasps.
Conclusions:
- Findings support interaction between functionally distinct dorsal and ventral streams.
- Dorsally guided actions are not entirely immune to perceptual stimuli.
- The study clarifies conditions promoting inter-stream interactions.
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