It is shown that human observers can use color both for detecting and for discriminating motion. The contributions of chromaticity and luminance to the detection and discrimination of motion are investigated with a high-contrast, nonisoluminant stimulus. The motion stimulus is a rectangular ‘particle’ defined by its luminance and chromaticity, which moves against a background containing luminance noise. Although the luminance noise is found to make achromatic particles undetectable over a large range of luminances, the addition of color to a particle can render it detectable and also enable accurate speed discriminations to be made. The contributions of both luminance and chromaticity were measured. The effect of changing the hue angle of the particle as it moves was also examined, and it was found that the detectability of motion is low in that circumstance.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AnstisSCavanaghP, 1983“A minimum motion technique for judging equiluminance”, in Colour Vision Eds MollonJ DSharpeL T (London: Academic Press) pp 155–166
2.
BornMWolfE, 1983Principles of Opticssixth (corrected) edition (Oxford: Pergamon Press)
3.
CarneyTShadlenMSwitkesE, 1987“Parallel processing of motion and colour information”Nature (London)328647–649
4.
CavanaghPAnstisS, 1991“The contribution of color to motion in normal and color-deficient observers”Vision Research312109–2148
5.
CavanaghPBoeglinJFavreauO E, 1985“Perception of motion in equiluminous kinematograms”Perception14151–162
6.
CavanaghPFavreauO E, 1985“Color and luminance share a common motion pathway”Vision Research251595–1601
7.
CavanaghPTylerC WFavreauO E, 1984“Perceived velocity of moving chromatic gratings”Journal of the Optical Society of America A7893–899
8.
ChangJ-JJuleszB, 1989“A new method for testing color motion under randomized equiluminant conditions”Supplement to Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science30(3) 130
9.
DerringtonA MBadcockD R, 1985“The low level motion system has both chromatic and luminance inputs”Vision Research251879–1884
10.
De YoeE AVan EssenD C, 1988“Concurrent processing streams in monkey visual cortex”Trends in Neuroscience11219–226
11.
FinneyD J, 1971Probit Analysis (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press)
12.
GoreaAPapathomasT V, 1989“Motion processing by chromatic and achromatic pathways”Journal of the Optical Society of America A6590–602
13.
GreenD MSwetsJ A, 1974Signal Detection Theory and Psychophysics (Huntington, NY: Robert E Krieger)
14.
KellyD H, 1979a“Motion and vision. I. Stabilized images of stationary gratings”Journal of the Optical Society of America691266–1274
15.
KellyD H, 1979b“Motion and vision. II. Stabilized spatio-temporal threshold surface”Journal of the Optical Society of America691340–1349
16.
KovacsIJuleszB, 1992“Depth, motion, and static-flow perception at metaisoluminant color contrast”Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America8910390–10394
17.
LindseyD TTellerD Y, 1990“Motion at isoluminance: Discrimination/detection ratios for moving isoluminant gratings”Vision Research301751–1761
18.
LivingstoneM SHubelD H, 1987“Psychophysical evidence for separate channels for the perception of form, color, movement, and depth”Journal of Neuroscience73416–3468
19.
LogothetisN KSchillerP HCharlesE RHurlbertA C, 1990“Perceptual deficits and the activity of the color-opponent and broad-band pathways at isoluminance”Science247214–217
20.
McKeeS PSilvermanG HNakayamaK, 1986“Precise velocity discrimination despite random variations in temporal frequency and contrast”Vision Research26609–620
21.
MorganM JClearyR, 1992“Effects of colour substitutions upon motion detection in spatially random patterns”Vision Research32(5) 815–822
22.
MullenK TBoultonJ C, 1992“Absence of smooth motion perception in color vision”Vision Research32483–488
23.
PapathomasP VGoreaAJuleszB, 1991“Two carriers for motion perception: Color and luminance”Vision Research311883–1892
24.
RamachandranV SGregoryR, 1978“Does colour provide an input to human motion perception?”Nature (London)27555–56
25.
TrościankoTFahleM, 1988“Why do isoluminant stimuli appear slower?”Journal of the Optical Society of America A5871–880
26.
ZekiS M, 1973“Colour coding in rhesus monkey prestriate cortex”Brain Research3419–35
27.
ZekiS M, 1978“Functional specialisation in the visual cortex of the rhesus monkey”Nature (London)274423–428
