The effects of attention and adaptation duration on the motion aftereffect.

Abstract

The motion aftereffect (MAE) is the perception of illusory motion following extended exposure to a moving stimulus. The MAE has been used to probe the role of attention in motion processing. Many studies have reported that MAEs are reduced if attention is diverted from the adaptation stimulus, but others have argued that motion adaptation is independent of attention. We explored several factors that might modulate the attention-adaptation relationship and therefore explain apparent inconsistencies, namely (a) adaptation duration, (b) motion type: translating versus complex, and (c) response bias. Participants viewed translating (Experiments 1a and 2) or rotating (Experiment 1b) random dot patterns while fixating a central letter stream. During adaptation, participants reported brief changes in the adaptor speed (attention-focused) or the presence of white vowels within the letter stream (attention-diverted). Trials consisted of multiple adaptation-test cycles, and the MAE was measured after each adaptation period. Across experiments, focused attention produced significantly larger MAEs than did diverted attention (15% change, Cohen's = .41). Attention affected the MAE asymptote, rather than its accumulation rate, and had larger effects for translational than for complex motion. The effect of attention remained evident after controlling for response bias. Our results suggest that attention affects multiple levels of the motion-processing hierarchy: not only higher level motion processing, as seen with apparent motion, but also low-level motion processing, as evidenced by the MAE. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Motion adaptation and attention: A critical review and meta-analysis

“…Consistent with our previous research (Bartlett et al, 2018), adaptation duration did not significantly moderate attentional modulation of the MAE. Previously we examined whether attention affects the rate at which the MAE builds up, or the asymptotic MAE.…”

“…Prior work has demonstrated that MAEs increase with adaptation duration (e.g. Bartlett et al, 2018). As discussed above, this duration-related increase in MAEs is not associated with increased attentional modulation.…”

“…As adaptation duration increases, MAEs increase (Hershenson, 1993). In previous work, we explored how the effects of attention vary across the adaptation period by measuring the MAE at regular intervals during an extended adaptation period (Bartlett et al, 2018). Attention affected the asymptotic MAE magnitude, but not the rate at which it accumulated (i.e.…”

Working Memory Load Effects on the Tilt Aftereffect

“…Especially, contradictory results have been found regarding the role of attention and distraction on some types of visual adaptation. For example, some studies have shown that attention load failed to modulate the motion aftereffects (e.g., Morgan, 2011 , 2012 , 2013 ; Morgan and Solomon, 2019 ); however, other studies have showed that a high-attention load during adaptation decreased the strength of the motion aftereffects (e.g., Chaudhuri, 1990 ; Rees et al, 1997 ; Taya et al, 2009 ; Bartlett et al, 2018 ).…”

A Dynamic Efficient Sensory Encoding Approach to Adaptive Tuning in Neural Models of Visual Motion Processing

“…At the neural level, adaptation is reflected in shifts in the firing rates of cells in response to prolonged exposure to a constant stimulus. Such effects have been observed across a variety of stimulus properties, including motion (Addams, 1834;Bartlett et al, 2018), light intensity, and orientation (Carandini et al, 1998;Dragoi et al, 2000;Gutnisky & Dragoi, 2008;Müller et al, 1999), and in both human and non-human animals (Howard et al, 1987;Laughlin, 1989;Shapley & Enroth-Cugell, 1984).…”