Short-latency disparity vergence eye movements: a response to disparity energy. 2006

B M Sheliga, and E J FitzGibbon, and F A Miles
Laboratory of Sensorimotor Research, National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health, Building 49, Bethesda, MD 20892-4435, USA. bms@lsr.nei.nih.gov

Vergence eye movements were elicited in human subjects by applying disparities to square-wave gratings lacking the fundamental ("missing fundamental", mf). Using a dichoptic arrangement, subjects viewed gratings that were identical at the two eyes except for a phase difference of 1/4 wavelength so that, based on the nearest-neighbor matches, the features and the 4n+1 harmonics (5th, 9th, etc.) all had binocular disparities of one sign, whereas the 4n-1 harmonics (3rd, 7th, etc.) all had disparities of the opposite sign. Further, the amplitude of the ith harmonic was proportional to 1/i. Using the electromagnetic search coil technique to record the positions of both eyes indicated that the earliest vergence eye movements elicited by these disparity stimuli had ultra-short latencies (minimum, <65 ms) and were always in the direction of the most prominent harmonic, the 3rd, but their magnitudes fell short of those elicited when the same disparities were applied to pure sinusoids whose spatial frequency and contrast matched those of the 3rd harmonic. This shortfall was evident in both the horizontal vergence responses recorded with vertical grating stimuli and the vertical vergence responses recorded with horizontal grating stimuli. When the next most prominent harmonic, the 5th, was removed from the mf stimulus (creating the "mf-5" stimulus) the vertical vergence responses showed almost no shortfall-indicating that it had been almost entirely due to that 5th harmonic-but the horizontal vergence responses still showed a small shortfall, at least with higher contrast stimuli. This small shortfall might represent a very minor contribution from higher harmonics and/or distortion products and/or a feature-based mechanism. We conclude that the earliest disparity vergence responses-especially vertical-were strongly dependent on the major Fourier components of the binocular images, consistent with early spatial filtering of the monocular visual inputs prior to their binocular combination as in the disparity-energy model of complex cells in striate cortex [Ohzawa, I., DeAngelis, G. C., & Freeman, R. D. (1990). Stereoscopic depth discrimination in the visual cortex: neurons ideally suited as disparity detectors. Science, 249, 1037-1041].

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D010775 Photic Stimulation Investigative technique commonly used during ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAPHY in which a series of bright light flashes or visual patterns are used to elicit brain activity. Stimulation, Photic,Visual Stimulation,Photic Stimulations,Stimulation, Visual,Stimulations, Photic,Stimulations, Visual,Visual Stimulations
D011601 Psychophysics The science dealing with the correlation of the physical characteristics of a stimulus, e.g., frequency or intensity, with the response to the stimulus, in order to assess the psychologic factors involved in the relationship. Psychophysic
D003196 Computer Graphics The process of pictorial communication, between human and computers, in which the computer input and output have the form of charts, drawings, or other appropriate pictorial representation. Computer Graphic,Graphic, Computer,Graphics, Computer
D003290 Convergence, Ocular The turning inward of the lines of sight toward each other. Convergences, Ocular,Ocular Convergence,Ocular Convergences
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D015348 Vision, Binocular The blending of separate images seen by each eye into one composite image. Binocular Vision
D015350 Contrast Sensitivity The ability to detect sharp boundaries (stimuli) and to detect slight changes in luminance at regions without distinct contours. Psychophysical measurements of this visual function are used to evaluate VISUAL ACUITY and to detect eye disease. Visual Contrast Sensitivity,Sensitivity, Contrast,Sensitivity, Visual Contrast
D015357 Vision Disparity The difference between two images on the retina when looking at a visual stimulus. This occurs since the two retinas do not have the same view of the stimulus because of the location of our eyes. Thus the left eye does not get exactly the same view as the right eye. Binocular Disparity,Fixation Disparity,Ocular Disparity,Parallax, Ocular,Retinal Disparity,Visual Disparity,Binocular Disparities,Disparities, Binocular,Disparities, Fixation,Disparities, Ocular,Disparities, Retinal,Disparities, Vision,Disparities, Visual,Disparity, Binocular,Disparity, Fixation,Disparity, Ocular,Disparity, Retinal,Disparity, Vision,Disparity, Visual,Fixation Disparities,Ocular Disparities,Ocular Parallax,Retinal Disparities,Vision Disparities,Visual Disparities

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