Document Detail


Crowding in peripheral vision: why bigger is better.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  19853450     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
We enjoy the illusion that visual resolution is high across the entire field of vision. However, this illusion can be easily dispelled by trying to identify objects in a cluttered environment out of the corner of your eye. This reflects, in part, the well-known decline in visual resolution in peripheral vision; however, the main bottleneck for reading or object recognition in peripheral vision is crowding. Objects that can be easily identified in isolation seem indistinct and jumbled in clutter. Crowding is thought to reflect inappropriate integration of the target and flankers in peripheral vision [1, 2]. Here, we uncover and explain a paradox in peripheral crowding: under certain conditions, increasing the size or number of flanking rings results in a paradoxical decrease in the magnitude of crowding-i.e., the bigger or more numerous the flanks, the smaller the crowding. These surprising results are predicted by a model in which crowding is determined by the centroids of approximately 4-8 independent features within approximately 0.5x the target eccentricity. These features are then integrated into a texture beyond the stage of feature analysis. We speculate that this process may contribute to the illusion of high resolution across the field of vision.
Authors:
Dennis M Levi; Thom Carney
Publication Detail:
Type:  Journal Article; Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural     Date:  2009-10-22
Journal Detail:
Title:  Current biology : CB     Volume:  19     ISSN:  1879-0445     ISO Abbreviation:  Curr. Biol.     Publication Date:  2009 Dec 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2010-01-12     Completed Date:  2010-03-30     Revised Date:  2011-07-25    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  9107782     Medline TA:  Curr Biol     Country:  England    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  1988-93     Citation Subset:  IM    
Affiliation:
School of Optometry and Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720-2020, USA. dlevi@berkeley.edu
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MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Adult
Discrimination (Psychology)*
Field Dependence-Independence
Humans
Pattern Recognition, Visual*
Perceptual Masking
Psychophysics
Visual Perception / physiology*
Grant Support
ID/Acronym/Agency:
R01 EY001728-33/EY/NEI NIH HHS; R01EY01728/EY/NEI NIH HHS; R01EY04776/EY/NEI NIH HHS
Comments/Corrections

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