Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Letter
  • Published:

Motion smear

Abstract

It is well known that the visual system summates signals over time, about 120 ms in daylight1,2. Although this summation has the obvious advantage of enhancing visual sensitivity, it creates the potential problem of motion smear when viewing moving targets, whose images are also summated over time3. Here I report some measurements which reveal that provided the moving target is exposed for long enough to elicit a dear sensation of motion, the amount of smear is far less than may be expected. This suggests that the visual mechanisms which signal motion are also responsible for signalling a clear unsmeared perception of the target in motion.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Graham, C. H. & Margaria, R., J. Physiol. 113, 299 (1935).

    Google Scholar 

  2. Barlow, H. B. J. Physiol., Lond. 141, 337 (1958).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Burr, D. C. thesis, Univ. Cambridge (1979).

  4. Newton, I. Opticks, 347 (1730, reprinted Dover, New York, 1952).

    MATH  Google Scholar 

  5. Effron, R. Neuropsychologia 8, 57 (1970).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Hogben, J. H. & Di Lollo, V. Vision Res. 14, 1059 (1974).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Ross, J. & Hogben, J. H. Vision Res. 14, 1195 (1974).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. DeSilva, H. R. Br. J. Psychol. 19, 268 (1929).

    Google Scholar 

  9. Westheimer, G. & McKee, S. J. opt. Soc. Am. 65, 847 (1975).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Smith, W. M. & Gulick, W. L. J. exp. Psychol. 53, 145 (1957).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Matin, L. in Handbook of Sensory Physiology Vol. VII/4 (eds Jameson, D. & Hurvich, L. M.) (Springer, Berlin, 1972).

    Google Scholar 

  12. Morgan, M. J., visison Res. 19, 491 (1979).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Cornsweet, T. N. Am. J. Psychol. 75, 483 (1962).

    Google Scholar 

  14. Westheimer, G. Archs Ophthal. 52, 932 (1954).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Tolhurst, D. J. J. Physiol., Lond. 231, 385 (1973).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Kulikowski, J. J. & Tolhurst, D. J. J. Physiol., Lond. 232, 149 (1973).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Burr, D. Motion smear. Nature 284, 164–165 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1038/284164a0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/284164a0

This article is cited by

Comments

By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing