Experiments on the Afterimages of Stimulus Change (Dvořák 1870): A Translation with Commentary

In 1870 Dvořák rejected Helmholtz's eye-movement account of motion aftereffects (MAEs) on the grounds that it was inconsistent with previous reports of nonuniform rotation in MAEs induced with Plateau spirals. Subsequent observations with spirals that were modified to induce both expanding and contracting MAEs simultaneously, together with the use of stationary negative afterimages during induction and test, were offered as further counter-examples to the eye-movement hypothesis. Dvořák's conjectures that perception (and misperception) of movement involves a unitary perceptual dimension of stimulus change also led him to investigate whether aftereffects comparable to MAEs could be induced along other stimulus dimensions in vision (luminance gradients), and in audition (gradients of pitch and intensity). It is suggested that Dvořák's observations, taken as a whole, may be interpreted as an attempt to provide evidence challenging the Helmholtzian traditions underpinning eye-movement accounts of MAEs. The nature and outcomes of these observations are provided in a translation of the original work, and are subsequently discussed in relation to some contemporary empirical counterparts.