Pattern and Orientation Effects on Afterimage Duration

Patterns composed of a pair of lines: vertical+horizontal, vertical+oblique, horizontal+oblique, and oblique+oblique, either centrally-aligned or edge-aligned, were shown at two positions of rotation. After a 1-s exposure to the pattern observers timed the duration of afterimages consisting of individual lines (fragmentary state) and the pattern as a whole (unitary state) for the ensuing 60 s. Summing unitary and fragmentary afterimage durations yielded the total afterimage duration for each pattern.

Three hypotheses were confirmed by the results: (i) total afterimage duration is constant for all patterns when integrated spatiotemporal luminances are equal; (ii) unitary afterimage duration is also constant; (iii) fragmentary afterimages of vertically oriented lines have longer durations than either their horizontal or oblique pair members, regardless of alignment and, with one exception, rotation. For all patterns, the durations of the unitary and the fragmentary state represent a fixed portion of the total afterimage duration. The difference between afterimage duration for differently oriented lines in patterns which include a vertical is discussed in relation to the vertical–horizontal illusion, the function and structure of cortical orientation processes, and perceptual development.