Common mechanisms for the representation of real, implied, and imagined visual motion

Perceptual systems are specialized for transducing and interpreting information from the environment. But perceptual systems can also be used for processing information that arises from other sources, such as mental imagery and cued associations. Here we ask how a particular sensory property, visual motion, is represented when it is not directly perceived but only imagined or inferred from other cues. In a series of experiments, a motion adaptation paradigm is used to assess directional properties of the responses to mental imagery of motion and viewing photographs that depict motion. The results show that both imagining motion and inferring motion from pictures can cause direction-specific adaptation of perceptual motion mechanisms, thus producing a motion aftereffect when a subsequent real motion stimulus is viewed. The transfer of adaptation from implied and imagined motion to real motion indicates that shared mechanisms are used for the perception, inference and imagination of visual motion.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Brain and Cognitive Sciences.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2007

Author dc:creator

• Winawer, Jonathan

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Lera Boroditsky.

• Brain and Cognitive Sciences.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/42225

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/42225