Document Detail


Disparity sensitivity in man and owl: Psychophysical evidence for equivalent perception of shape-from-stereo.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  20143903     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
The perception of shape-from-stereo is best characterized by the spatial disparity-contrast sensitivity function (DSF). This is the stereo analogue of the well-known luminance-contrast sensitivity function (CSF). In principle, the DSF and CSF portray a visual system's ability to detect spatial modulation as specified by changes in binocular disparity and luminance, respectively. In humans, less fine detail is visible in the stereo domain than is possible in the luminance domain. Here, we characterize for the first time the DSF in a non-human species, viz. the barn owl. At the same time, we re-examined the human DSF with identical apparatus and methods to directly compare between two vertebrate species that evolved stereovision independently. We discovered a close relationship between the owl and human ability to detect shape-from-stereo. In particular, the shift in absolute position between the human and owl DSF, as measured here, closely corresponds to the shift in absolute position between their respective CSFs, as known from the literature. In conclusion, our study establishes unprecedented experimental proof of a striking similarity in the prowess of humans and owls to achieve shape-from-stereo.
Authors:
Robert F van der Willigen; Wolf M Harmening; Sabine Vossen; Hermann Wagner
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Publication Detail:
Type:  Comparative Study; Journal Article     Date:  2010-01-20
Journal Detail:
Title:  Journal of vision     Volume:  10     ISSN:  1534-7362     ISO Abbreviation:  J Vis     Publication Date:  2010  
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2010-02-10     Completed Date:  2010-04-23     Revised Date:  -    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  101147197     Medline TA:  J Vis     Country:  United States    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  10.1-11     Citation Subset:  IM    
Affiliation:
Department of Biophysics, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behaviour, Radboud University Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
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MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Animals
Contrast Sensitivity / physiology*
Depth Perception / physiology*
Discrimination (Psychology) / physiology
Eyeglasses
Form Perception / physiology*
Humans
Models, Neurological
Photic Stimulation / methods
Psychophysics*
Species Specificity
Strigiformes / physiology*

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine


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