Abstract
In a visual search task, targets defined by motion or binocular disparity stand out effortlessly from stationary distractors (`pop-out'), suggesting that target and distractors are processed by different neural mechanisms. We used pop-out to explore whether motion directly toward or away from the observer (z-motion) is detected using binocular motion cues. A target moving laterally (x-motion) popped out amid stationary distractors with binocular disparity, but z-motion did not pop out. However, a small x-motion added to the target's z-motion caused it to pop out. We therefore suggest that the visual system may not be specifically sensitive to binocular motion differences.
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Acknowledgements
We thank Bruce Cumming, Simon Rushton, Harvey Smallman, Jane Sumnall and Preeti Verghese for comments on the manuscript. The work was supported by a UK MRC grant G9533618N to JMH and AFOSR grant F49620-95-1-0265 to SPM.
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Harris, J., McKee, S. & Watamaniuk, S. Visual search for motion-in-depth: stereomotion does not 'pop out' from disparity noise. Nat Neurosci 1, 165–168 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1038/418
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/418
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