Work

An empirical basis for Mach bands

Year: 1999

Type: article

Abstract: Mach bands, the illusory brightness maxima and minima perceived at the initiation and termination of luminance gradients, respectively, are generally considered a direct perceptual manifestation of lateral inhibitory interactions among retinal or other lower order visual neurons. Here we examine an alternative explanation, namely that Mach bands arise as a consequence of real-world luminance gradients. In this first of two companion papers, we analyze the natural sources of luminance gradients, demonstrating that real-world gradients arising from curved surfaces are ordinarily adorned by photometric highlights and lowlights in the position of the illusory bands. The prevalence of such gradients provides an empirical basis for the generation of this perceptual phenomenon.

Source: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

DOI: 10.1073/pnas.96.9.5239

Authors: R. Beau Lotto, S. Mark Williams, Dale Purves

Institution: Duke Medical Center

Language: English

Topic: Visual perception and processing mechanisms

Subfield: Cognitive Neuroscience

Field: Neuroscience

Domain: Life Sciences

Open Access status: green

Funders: National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

Awards: CONSTRUCTION OF BRAIN CIRCUITS, G6345613991