Stroboscopic motion reversals in delay-coupled neural fields

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Computational Neuroscience
• Visual Perception

Background:

• Visual illusions offer insights into visual processing mechanisms.
• Dynamical neural circuit models are valuable for testing theories of perceptual phenomena.
• Activity propagation delays are crucial in shaping visual percepts.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose and analyze a delay-coupled neural field model explaining stroboscopic percepts.
• To investigate how neural delays influence the emergence of visual illusions like the wagon-wheel effect.
• To understand the role of uniform and spatially dependent delays in neural signal transmission.

Main Methods:

• Developed a delay-coupled neural field model with ring-organized neurons encoding angular preference.
• Analyzed models with instantaneous local and delayed long-range neural coupling.
• Employed interface-based asymptotic methods to reduce neural field dynamics to coupled delay differential equations.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated that neural delays generate coexisting traveling bump solutions with distinct, quantized propagation speeds.
• Showcased how regularly pulsed inputs induce transitions between discrete speed states, including reversed motion.
• Captured key features of visual aliasing and stroboscopic motion reversal.

Conclusions:

• Delayed neural interactions organize perception into discrete dynamical states.
• Provided a mechanistic explanation for stroboscopic visual illusions based on neural signal propagation delays.
• Highlighted the significance of delays in neural fields for understanding visual perception and illusions.