The effect of confidence hysteresis on number perception and decision making Darko Odic Johns Hop... more The effect of confidence hysteresis on number perception and decision making Darko Odic Johns Hopkins University Howard Hock Florida Atlantic University Justin Halberda Johns Hopkins University Abstract: Perceptual decision making requires acquiring perceptual evidence and judging the reliability of such evidence. Thus, the confidence one has in the signal at hand affects perceptual decisions. Here we demonstrate that this form of confidence also dynamically depends on the perceivers’ previous task performance – a form of ”confidence hysteresis”. Both children and adults performed a numerical discrimination task in which the order of trials was either from the hardest trials (e.g., 10 vs. 9 dots) to the easiest (e.g., 10 vs. 5 dots), or vice-versa. The order of trials had a pronounced effect on later discriminations, and especially for children in the hard-to-easy condition, whose performance at easy ratios was so poor that it resembled the discrimination ability of 9-month-old infa...
The effect of confidence hysteresis on number perception and decision making Darko Odic Johns Hop... more The effect of confidence hysteresis on number perception and decision making Darko Odic Johns Hopkins University Howard Hock Florida Atlantic University Justin Halberda Johns Hopkins University Abstract: Perceptual decision making requires acquiring perceptual evidence and judging the reliability of such evidence. Thus, the confidence one has in the signal at hand affects perceptual decisions. Here we demonstrate that this form of confidence also dynamically depends on the perceivers’ previous task performance – a form of ”confidence hysteresis”. Both children and adults performed a numerical discrimination task in which the order of trials was either from the hardest trials (e.g., 10 vs. 9 dots) to the easiest (e.g., 10 vs. 5 dots), or vice-versa. The order of trials had a pronounced effect on later discriminations, and especially for children in the hard-to-easy condition, whose performance at easy ratios was so poor that it resembled the discrimination ability of 9-month-old infa...
The correspondence problem arises in motion perception when more than one motion path is possible... more The correspondence problem arises in motion perception when more than one motion path is possible for discontinuously presented visual elements. Ullman's (1979) "minimal mapping" solution to the correspondence problem, for which costs are assigned to competing motion paths on the basis of element affinities (e.g., greater affinity for elements that are closer together), is distinguished from a solution based on the differential activation of directionally selective motion detectors. The differential activation account was supported by evidence that path length affects detector activation in a paradignm for which motion correspondence is not a factor. Effects on detector activation in this paradigm also were the basis for the successful prediction of path luminance effects on solutions to the motion correspondence problem. Finally, the differential activation account was distinguished from minimal mapping theory by an experiment showing that the perception of an element...
A computational model for the perception of counterchange-specified motion is examined in detail ... more A computational model for the perception of counterchange-specified motion is examined in detail and compared with various versions of the Reichardt motion detection model [Reichardt, W. (1961). Autocorrelation, a principle for the evaluation of sensory information by the central nervous system. In W. A. Rosenblith (Ed.), Sensory communication (pp. 303-317). New York: Wiley]. The counterchange model is composed of a pair of temporally biphasic subunits at two retinal locations, one detecting decreases and the other increases in input activation. Motion is signaled when both subunits are simultaneously excited, as determined by the multiplicative combination of their transient responses. In contrast with the Reichardt detector, which effectively tracks motion energy and accounts solely for results obtained with standard apparent motion stimuli (a surface is visible at one location, then at another), the counterchange model also accounts for the generalized apparent motion perceived between pairs of simultaneously visible surfaces. This indicates that standard apparent motion can be perceived via the same non-sequential, non-motion-energy mechanism as generalized apparent motion. There is no need for either an explicit delay mechanism to account for optimal motion perception at non-zero inter-stimulus intervals, or for inhibitory interaction between subunits to account for the absence of motion in the detector's null direction (Barlow, H. B., & Levick, W. R., 1965). Both are emergent properties that result from the inhibitory states of the counterchange detector's biphasic subunits. In addition to apparent motion, the counterchange principle potentially accounts for the perception of motion for drifting gratings, the short range motion perceived for random-dot cinematograms, and the motion perceived for continuously moving objects.
The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience, Jan 10, 2016
Differences between visual pathways representing darks and lights have been shown to affect spati... more Differences between visual pathways representing darks and lights have been shown to affect spatial resolution and detection timing. Both psychophysical and physiological studies suggest an underlying retinal origin with amplification in primary visual cortex (V1). Here we show that temporal asymmetries in the processing of darks and lights create motion in terms of propagating activity across V1. Exploiting the high spatiotemporal resolution of voltage-sensitive dye imaging, we captured population responses to abrupt local changes of luminance in cat V1. For stimulation we used two neighboring small squares presented on either bright or dark backgrounds. When a single square changed from dark to bright or vice versa, we found coherent population activity emerging at the respective retinal input locations. However, faster rising and decay times were obtained for the bright to dark than the dark to bright changes. When the two squares changed luminance simultaneously in opposite pola...
Evidence obtained using the dynamic grouping method has shown that the grouping of an object&... more Evidence obtained using the dynamic grouping method has shown that the grouping of an object's connected surfaces has properties characteristic of a nonlinear dynamical system. When a surface's luminance changes, one of its boundaries is perceived moving across the surface. The direction of this dynamic grouping (DG) motion indicates which of two flanking surfaces has been grouped with the changing surface. A quantitative measure of overall grouping strength (affinity) for adjacent surfaces is provided by the frequency of DG motion perception in directions promoted by the grouping variables. It was found that: (1) variables affecting surface grouping for three-surface objects evolve over time, settling at stable levels within a single fixation, (2) how often DG motion is perceived when a surface's luminance is perturbed (changed) depends on the pre-perturbation affinity state of the surface grouping, (3) grouping variables promoting the same surface grouping combine cooperatively and nonlinearly (super-additively) in determining the surface grouping's affinity, (4) different DG motion directions during different trials indicate that surface grouping can be bistable, which implies that inhibitory interactions have stabilized one of two alternative surface groupings, and (5) when alternative surface groupings have identical affinity, stochastic fluctuations can break the symmetry and inhibitory interactions can then stabilize one of the surface groupings, providing affinity levels are not too high (which results in bidirectional DG motion). A surface-grouping network is proposed within which boundaries vary in salience. Low salience or suppressed boundaries instantiate surface grouping, and DG motion results from changes in boundary salience.
It is generally taken that closure of the eyes for periods longer than a blink blocks visual perc... more It is generally taken that closure of the eyes for periods longer than a blink blocks visual perception due to the presumed diffusion of image structure by the eyelids. Although as much as 14.5% of the light incident at the eyelid may reach the retina, a capacity to visually perceive meaningful structure has not previously been proposed. We report on visual experiments through the closed eyelid, demonstrating the presence of both spatial and temporal sensitivity. By Rayleigh’s criterion, we found a mean spatial resolution of 21° for the closed eye (N=17), in comparison with optimal open eye resolution of approximately 0.008°. In addition, we found that motion direction discrimination was qualitatively comparable to performance with an open eye that was perceptually matched with the closed eye for blur and brightness (N=8). Confidence in making closed eye observations was significantly lower than with open eyes, and subjects’ mean blur and brightness matching using the open eye overe...
The effect of confidence hysteresis on number perception and decision making Darko Odic Johns Hop... more The effect of confidence hysteresis on number perception and decision making Darko Odic Johns Hopkins University Howard Hock Florida Atlantic University Justin Halberda Johns Hopkins University Abstract: Perceptual decision making requires acquiring perceptual evidence and judging the reliability of such evidence. Thus, the confidence one has in the signal at hand affects perceptual decisions. Here we demonstrate that this form of confidence also dynamically depends on the perceivers’ previous task performance – a form of ”confidence hysteresis”. Both children and adults performed a numerical discrimination task in which the order of trials was either from the hardest trials (e.g., 10 vs. 9 dots) to the easiest (e.g., 10 vs. 5 dots), or vice-versa. The order of trials had a pronounced effect on later discriminations, and especially for children in the hard-to-easy condition, whose performance at easy ratios was so poor that it resembled the discrimination ability of 9-month-old infa...
The effect of confidence hysteresis on number perception and decision making Darko Odic Johns Hop... more The effect of confidence hysteresis on number perception and decision making Darko Odic Johns Hopkins University Howard Hock Florida Atlantic University Justin Halberda Johns Hopkins University Abstract: Perceptual decision making requires acquiring perceptual evidence and judging the reliability of such evidence. Thus, the confidence one has in the signal at hand affects perceptual decisions. Here we demonstrate that this form of confidence also dynamically depends on the perceivers’ previous task performance – a form of ”confidence hysteresis”. Both children and adults performed a numerical discrimination task in which the order of trials was either from the hardest trials (e.g., 10 vs. 9 dots) to the easiest (e.g., 10 vs. 5 dots), or vice-versa. The order of trials had a pronounced effect on later discriminations, and especially for children in the hard-to-easy condition, whose performance at easy ratios was so poor that it resembled the discrimination ability of 9-month-old infa...
The correspondence problem arises in motion perception when more than one motion path is possible... more The correspondence problem arises in motion perception when more than one motion path is possible for discontinuously presented visual elements. Ullman's (1979) "minimal mapping" solution to the correspondence problem, for which costs are assigned to competing motion paths on the basis of element affinities (e.g., greater affinity for elements that are closer together), is distinguished from a solution based on the differential activation of directionally selective motion detectors. The differential activation account was supported by evidence that path length affects detector activation in a paradignm for which motion correspondence is not a factor. Effects on detector activation in this paradigm also were the basis for the successful prediction of path luminance effects on solutions to the motion correspondence problem. Finally, the differential activation account was distinguished from minimal mapping theory by an experiment showing that the perception of an element...
A computational model for the perception of counterchange-specified motion is examined in detail ... more A computational model for the perception of counterchange-specified motion is examined in detail and compared with various versions of the Reichardt motion detection model [Reichardt, W. (1961). Autocorrelation, a principle for the evaluation of sensory information by the central nervous system. In W. A. Rosenblith (Ed.), Sensory communication (pp. 303-317). New York: Wiley]. The counterchange model is composed of a pair of temporally biphasic subunits at two retinal locations, one detecting decreases and the other increases in input activation. Motion is signaled when both subunits are simultaneously excited, as determined by the multiplicative combination of their transient responses. In contrast with the Reichardt detector, which effectively tracks motion energy and accounts solely for results obtained with standard apparent motion stimuli (a surface is visible at one location, then at another), the counterchange model also accounts for the generalized apparent motion perceived between pairs of simultaneously visible surfaces. This indicates that standard apparent motion can be perceived via the same non-sequential, non-motion-energy mechanism as generalized apparent motion. There is no need for either an explicit delay mechanism to account for optimal motion perception at non-zero inter-stimulus intervals, or for inhibitory interaction between subunits to account for the absence of motion in the detector's null direction (Barlow, H. B., & Levick, W. R., 1965). Both are emergent properties that result from the inhibitory states of the counterchange detector's biphasic subunits. In addition to apparent motion, the counterchange principle potentially accounts for the perception of motion for drifting gratings, the short range motion perceived for random-dot cinematograms, and the motion perceived for continuously moving objects.
The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience, Jan 10, 2016
Differences between visual pathways representing darks and lights have been shown to affect spati... more Differences between visual pathways representing darks and lights have been shown to affect spatial resolution and detection timing. Both psychophysical and physiological studies suggest an underlying retinal origin with amplification in primary visual cortex (V1). Here we show that temporal asymmetries in the processing of darks and lights create motion in terms of propagating activity across V1. Exploiting the high spatiotemporal resolution of voltage-sensitive dye imaging, we captured population responses to abrupt local changes of luminance in cat V1. For stimulation we used two neighboring small squares presented on either bright or dark backgrounds. When a single square changed from dark to bright or vice versa, we found coherent population activity emerging at the respective retinal input locations. However, faster rising and decay times were obtained for the bright to dark than the dark to bright changes. When the two squares changed luminance simultaneously in opposite pola...
Evidence obtained using the dynamic grouping method has shown that the grouping of an object&... more Evidence obtained using the dynamic grouping method has shown that the grouping of an object's connected surfaces has properties characteristic of a nonlinear dynamical system. When a surface's luminance changes, one of its boundaries is perceived moving across the surface. The direction of this dynamic grouping (DG) motion indicates which of two flanking surfaces has been grouped with the changing surface. A quantitative measure of overall grouping strength (affinity) for adjacent surfaces is provided by the frequency of DG motion perception in directions promoted by the grouping variables. It was found that: (1) variables affecting surface grouping for three-surface objects evolve over time, settling at stable levels within a single fixation, (2) how often DG motion is perceived when a surface's luminance is perturbed (changed) depends on the pre-perturbation affinity state of the surface grouping, (3) grouping variables promoting the same surface grouping combine cooperatively and nonlinearly (super-additively) in determining the surface grouping's affinity, (4) different DG motion directions during different trials indicate that surface grouping can be bistable, which implies that inhibitory interactions have stabilized one of two alternative surface groupings, and (5) when alternative surface groupings have identical affinity, stochastic fluctuations can break the symmetry and inhibitory interactions can then stabilize one of the surface groupings, providing affinity levels are not too high (which results in bidirectional DG motion). A surface-grouping network is proposed within which boundaries vary in salience. Low salience or suppressed boundaries instantiate surface grouping, and DG motion results from changes in boundary salience.
It is generally taken that closure of the eyes for periods longer than a blink blocks visual perc... more It is generally taken that closure of the eyes for periods longer than a blink blocks visual perception due to the presumed diffusion of image structure by the eyelids. Although as much as 14.5% of the light incident at the eyelid may reach the retina, a capacity to visually perceive meaningful structure has not previously been proposed. We report on visual experiments through the closed eyelid, demonstrating the presence of both spatial and temporal sensitivity. By Rayleigh’s criterion, we found a mean spatial resolution of 21° for the closed eye (N=17), in comparison with optimal open eye resolution of approximately 0.008°. In addition, we found that motion direction discrimination was qualitatively comparable to performance with an open eye that was perceptually matched with the closed eye for blur and brightness (N=8). Confidence in making closed eye observations was significantly lower than with open eyes, and subjects’ mean blur and brightness matching using the open eye overe...
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