Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Perceiving topological structure of 2-D patterns

H Hecht1, H Bader

  • 1Zentrum für Interdisziplinäre Forschung der Universität Bielefeld, Germany. hecht@hrz.uni-bielefeld.de

Acta Psychologica
|October 15, 1998
PubMed
Summary

Visual perception is sensitive to the topological structure of 2-D patterns. Differences in complexity, including components, holes, and inclusion, enhance pattern discrimination speed and accuracy.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Observations of Polypharmacy and Interactions on Varying COVID-19 Medication Regimens in Nursing Home Residents.

Journal of the American Medical Directors Association·2021
Same author

The Power of mind: Blocking visual perception by hypnosis.

Scientific reports·2017
Same author

Clinical Phenotype of Musladin-Lueke Syndrome in 2 Beagles.

Journal of veterinary internal medicine·2017
Same author

The Auditory Kuleshov Effect: Multisensory Integration in Movie Editing.

Perception·2016
Same author

PULMONARY VASCULAR DISEASE AND COR PULMONALE.

A listing of research in the cardiovascular field·2014
Same author

Heuristics and invariants in dynamic event perception: Immunized concepts or nonstatements?

Psychonomic bulletin & review·2013

Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Visual Perception
  • Computational Neuroscience

Background:

  • Previous research on visual stimuli often confounded topological properties with other features.
  • Gestalt principles and specific visual features can influence pattern recognition.
  • Systematic investigation of topological structure in 2-D patterns is limited.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate human observers' sensitivity to the topological structure of 2-D visual stimuli.
  • To systematically isolate and test the influence of topological factors on pattern processing.
  • To determine if topological properties contribute to pattern discriminability beyond confounding variables.

Main Methods:

  • Conducted four experiments using controlled 2-D visual patterns.
  • Manipulated three key topological factors: number of disconnected components, holes, and inclusion relationships.
  • Employed forced-choice comparison techniques and similarity judgments to assess discriminability.

Main Results:

  • Pattern processing speed for 2-D stimuli is significantly influenced by their topological properties.
  • Increased differences in topological structure lead to easier pattern discrimination.
  • All three topological factors (components, holes, inclusion) independently and collectively contribute to discriminability.

Conclusions:

  • Topological structure is a critical, quantifiable factor in visual pattern discriminability.
  • These findings support the role of topological complexity in visual processing beyond confounding features.
  • The study provides a basis for understanding a potential general topological analyzer in vision.

Related Experiment Videos