Colliding targets: evidence for spatial localization within the motion system

The ability to judge the relative location of moving targets is seriously degraded if the targets move in different directions. The vernier acuity for a target in which the two components move in the same direction is not impaired until target velocity exceeds about 4 deg/sec. If the components are moving along trajectories which differ in direction by more than 15 deg, vernier thresholds rise significantly at target speeds greater than 1 deg/sec. The conditions which affect stationary vernier acuity, i.e. separation of target components, duration, and orientation, do not account for the loss in acuity. Our results suggest that localization for moving targets depends on directionally-selective motion detectors.