Contrast influence on perceived orientation

When two gratings of slightly different orientation and equal contrast are presented dichoptically the observer perceives a unique fused grating at an orientation intermediate between the two (cyclofusion). We show here that if the contrast of the two gratings is different the perceived orientation of the fused grating depends on the relative contrast of the two monocular images. The results show that the perceived orientation varies linearly with the contrast difference, provided that the contrast values of the gratings presented to each eye are such as to give rise to a fused image. In these conditions, the perceived orientation is the average of the two monocular orientations, weighted with their contrast.