A new visual illusion of relative motion

Abstract

We present a remarkably simple illusion that manifests whenever a certain class of flat static patterns are moved across our peripheral visual field. A relative motion is perceived in a direction perpendicular to the true motion. Translatory, looming, and rotational movements of the head or the pattern can all elicit it. Each pattern is constructed of simple elements that define, through luminance, an orientation polarity. This polarity could be encoded by spatiotemporally tuned, orientation sensitive units in area V1. We offer an explanation for the illusion based on how such units from V1 may be combined to feed the processes that subsequently interpret motion.

Do Fish Perceive Illusory Motion?

“…Motion illusion is a type of visual illusion in which we perceive motion that is different (in direction, strength, etc 789101112131415.…”

The Barn

“…An equally widespread pattern in Roman mosaics reveals a completely different effect. A presentation at the ECVP in 2011 showed that the Romans certainly already knew about the Pinna-Brelstaff illusion (Lingelbach & Wade, 2011;Pinna & Brelstaff, 2000).…”

Effect of Surrounding Texture on the Pursuit-Pursuing Illusion

“…Kitaoka and Ashida (2007) reviewed the illusions and classified them in two categories; some of them are classified as “illusory motion in a direction different from the retinal-image motion,” i.e. producing perception of motion components at a right-angle direction to the retinal-motion direction (Gori & Hamburger, 2006; Ito, Anstis, & Cavanagh, 2009; Pinna & Brelstaff, 2000). The other illusions category is “illusory motion in the direction parallel to the retinal-image motion.” For example, the swinging-motion illusion (Khang & Essock, 2000) produces illusory motion arising in an opposite direction to eye movement direction.…”

“…the same direction as the pursuit eye movement), (2) the centre disc does not move when the sheet on which the radial patterns are printed is rotated (illusory stillness against physical motion, see also Figure 2 in Ito, 2012), (3) the effect does not change with pursuit direction (no anisotropy in the effect) because the radial pattern has virtually no orientation and (4) despite the radial stimulus configuration, this illusion needs one-dimensional retinal motion, not expansion/contraction of the stimulus pattern (e.g. “Pinna and Brelstaff illusion,” Pinna & Brelstaff, 2000; “the Rotating-Tilted-Line illusion,” Gori & Hamburger, 2006; “the Breathing Light Illusion,” Gori & Stubbs, 2006; “the accordion grating illusion,” Gori, Giora, Yazdanbakhsh, & Mingolla, 2011). This is also different from those that do not need explicit physical motion of the stimulus image (e.g.…”