Bandwidths of orientation channels in human vision
Journal of the Optical Society of AmericaPublished 1 May 1979
James P. Thomas, Jennifer Gille
Citations145
Generate an AI Snapshot to get a quick, structured summary of this paper.
Study Snapshot
ObjectiveStudy objective
MethodsResearch methodology
PopulationPopulation studied
Sample sizeSample sizes
OutcomesStudy outcomes here
ResultsStudy results comes here
LimitationsResearch study limitations comes here
A concise AI-generated summary of the paper will appear here once you click Generate AI Snapshot.
TL;DR
A model is presented which permits bandwidths of orientation-tuned mechanisms to be estimated from the data and shows that in a group of five observers, half-amplitude bandwidths varied from 10 degrees to 20 degrees.
Abstract
The ability of observers to discriminate between stimuli differing in orientation was measured using low contrast, foveally viewed stimuli. Detection and discrimination performance were measured simultaneously. A model is presented which permits bandwidths of orientation-tuned mechanisms to be estimated from the data. In a group of five observers, half-amplitude bandwidths varied from 10 degrees to 20 degrees.
Keywords
NeuroscienceEngineeringPhysics and Astronomy
The Journal of PhysiologyApplication of fourier analysis to the visibility of gratings
3,041 Citations1968F. W. Campbell, J. G. Robson
The contrast thresholds of a variety of grating patterns have been measured over a wide range of spatial frequencies and the results show clear patterns of uniformity in the response to grating noise.
The Journal of Comparative NeurologySequence regularity and geometry of orientation columns in the monkey striate cortex
1,045 Citations1974David H. Hubel, Torsten N. Wiesel
Column thickness, size of shifts in orientation, and the rate of change of orientation with distance along the cortex seemed to be independent of eccentricity, at least between 2° and 15° from the fovea.
The Journal of PhysiologyOrientational selectivity of the human visual system
697 Citations1966F. W. Campbell, J. J. Kulikowski
The effect of changing the orientation between the object and background is investigated and it is known that an object is less detectable when it is viewed against a background containing structures similar to the object.
Journal of the Optical Society of AmericaSpatial-Frequency Channels in Human Vision*
503 Citations1971Murray B. Sachs, Jacob Nachmias +1 more
Psychometric functions were determined concurrently for detection of simple gratings and complex gratings, compatible with the assumption that the human visual system contains sensory channels, each selectively sensitive to different narrow ranges of spatial frequencies, whose outputs are detected independently.
Vision ResearchDetection of grating patterns containing two spatial frequencies: A comparison of single-channel and multiple-channels models
410 Citations1971Norma Graham, Jacob Nachmias
Two models of pattern vision were tested: a single-channel model in which pattern vision is a function of a single neural network and a multiple-channels model inWhich the stimulus information is processed by many channels, each sensitive to a narrow range of spatial frequencies.
The Journal of PhysiologyThe orientation specificity of two visual after‐effects
265 Citations1971Colin Blakemore, Jacob Nachmias
Inspection of a high‐contrast adapting grating produces two visual after‐effects: (a) the contrast threshold is raised for test gratings of similar spatial frequency to that of the adapting pattern and (b) the apparent spatial frequency of test grating shifts away from that ofThe adaptinggrating.
Journal of NeurophysiologyQuantitative studies of single-cell properties in monkey striate cortex. III. Spatial frequency
206 Citations1976Peter H. Schiller, Barbara L. Finlay +1 more
The spatial frequency of the sine-wave grating eliciting the optimal response could not be predicted from the organization of the receptive field of each cell as determined by stationary or moving stimuli.
Vision ResearchVisual detection of aperiodic spatial stimuli by probability summation among narrowband channels
154 Citations1977Norma Graham
This work has shown that the results of recent psychophysical results, including thresholds for aperiodic stimuli, can be completely explained using only relatively narrowband channels with probability summation among them.
Vision ResearchThreshold visibility of frequency gradient patterns
146 Citations1977Hugh R. Wilson, Stephen C. Giese
The results demonstrate that spatial inhomogeneity is indeed an important factor in the threshold visibility of gratings and support medium bandwidth estimates for the mechanisms underlying spatial frequency selectivity, and are inconsistent with the notion that the visual system performs a Fourier analysis of visual images.
Vision ResearchDiscrimination of simple and complex gratings
132 Citations1975Jacob Nachmias, Anita L. Weber
It is possible to offer a plausible explanation of some of these phenomena by invoking the existence in the human visual system of broad-band, phase-sensitive channels, as well as of narrow-band channels.
Vision ResearchStructure and properties of a single channel in the human visual system
105 Citations1976H. Mostafavi, D. Sakrison
This paper examines the structure of a channel and shows that it must be represented by an incoherent, rather than a coherent, type of detection, and examines the properties of the detection mechanism of a single channel.
The Journal of PhysiologyThe detection of gratings by independent activation of line detectors.
93 Citations1975P. Ewen King‐Smith, J. J. Kulikowski
It is shown that lines are not detected by independent activation of sharply tuned grating detectors but that sub‐units may be involved which are slightly more narrowly tuned than the line detector and evidence is presented that the detection of finer and coarser gratings may be analysed in similar terms.
Vision ResearchEvidence against narrow-band spatial frequency channels in human vision: the detectability of frequency modulated gratings
82 Citations1975C.F. Stromeyer, Stanley A. Klein
It is shown that narrow- band mechanisms cannot readily account for the results, but medium-band mechanisms with a one octave bandwidth may be compatible with data on the visibility of compound gratings.
Vision ResearchOrientational selectivity of grating and line detectors in human vision
73 Citations1973J. J. Kulikowski, R V Abadi +1 more
It is suggested that lateral inhibition between detectors contributes to the orientation selectivity derived by other methods but not by the present subthreshold method, and the two-dimensional spatial extents of grating and line detectors are estimated.
Vision ResearchDetection and discrimination of simple and complex patterns at low spatial frequencies
41 Citations1977Carol S. Furchner, James P. Thomas +1 more
The detection and discrimination thresholds of complex grating stimuli fell within the ranges which would be expected if probability summation effects and summation of different closely spaced harmonic frequencies within single channels are considered, supporting the hypothesis of independent processing of low-spatial frequency information.
Vision ResearchInhibitory interaction between visual pathways tuned to different orientations
26 Citations1975James P. Thomas, Keiko K. Shimamura
When subjects judge the orientation of a single line presented at threshold luminance, their performance conforms to predictions derived from psychophysical estimates of receptive field properties, but when subjects detect stimuli which simultaneously activate channels tuned to two different orientations, performance falls below that expected from receptive field Properties.
Vision ResearchPerception of size at the detection threshold: Its accuracy and possible mechanisms
18 Citations1974James P. Thomas, Keiko K. Shimamura
Three possible models of size perception were evaluated using uniformly illuminated disks, clusters of small dots, and annuli as stimuli, and the results support the multiple, size-tuned channel model.
Vision ResearchSpatial summation in the fovea: Asymmetrical effects of longer and shorter dimensions
14 Citations1978James P. Thomas
The results suggest that detection is mediated by only those spatial frequency components which lie parallel to the long axis of the stimulus.