This research was supported by the Australian Research council. ARC Grant # DP110101511 given to JB; National Sciences and Engineering Research Council, NSERC of Canada Grant # RGPIN121713-11 given to FK ; ARC grant # DP130102580 and DP110104553 to DRB.

1. Prescreening
<ol>
	<li>Prior to testing, obtain written and informed consent from each participant.</li>
	<li>Ask the subject if they have normal or corrected-to-normal acuity (i.e. glasses).</li>
	<li>Verify the stereo acuity of the participant using a simple handheld stereo test.</li>
</ol>
2. Achieving Binocular Fusion in the Stereoscope
<ol>
	<li>Seat the participant at the desk in front of the mirror stereoscope and adjust the height of their chair for comfort.</li>
	<li>Turn off the lights so that they may dark adapt for a minimum of 3 min. The visual system performs best when it is adapted to the prevailing lighting conditions.</li>
	<li>Have the participant look through the stereoscope. They will see a cross displayed on the monitor for each eye. They must adjust the horizontal position of the fixation crosses until they see one cross only, in the center of their field of view. If they see two&#160;crosses, then this separation is incorrect and horizontal adjustment is needed. The targets are centered on the crosses when displayed and this procedure ensures fusion at the correct distance.</li>
	<li>The participant is now ready to commence the experiment.</li>
</ol>
3. Task Instructions for the Observer
<ol>
	<li>&#34;On each trial you will see two curves that have rotation-in-depth (RID). You are required to decide which of the two curves has a greater RID, in other words which is more rotated away from your view. Press the left mouse button if the first stimulus has a greater RID. Press the right mouse button if the second curve has more RID.&#34;</li>
	<li>&#34;This is a forced-choice task in which the next trial does not commence until a response has been made to a previous trial.&#34;</li>
	<li>&#34;If you are not sure which stimulus has more RID,&#160;please take your best guess.&#34;</li>
</ol>
4. Measuring Sensitivity to Viewpoint Change/RID in Contours
<ol>
	<li>To evaluate the role of stereoscopic cues in judgments of RID, the performance of the participant is measured separately in conditions where stereoscopic cues to RID are presented (stereo conditions) and where they are not presented (nonstereo conditions). To present stereoscopic cues, the computer displays a different RID angle of curve to each eye of the observer, through the stereoscope. To present the curves without stereo cues, the computer presents the same RID curve to both eyes (see Figure 2 for an example of this). The methodological steps below are then repeated for both conditions.</li>
	<li>Initiate the procedure, composed of 140 trials, for the participant. Note: The Method of Constant Stimuli (MOCS13) is used to ensure equal numbers of trials for each value of RID of the test curve employed. The RIDs can be either greater than, less than or equal to 45&#176;, with the particular value being randomly chosen from the set for each trial. The RID of the reference curve is held constant at 45&#176; RID. The presentation order of reference and test stimuli is randomized on each trial.</li>
	<li>Allow the program to record how often the participant chooses the test as being at the greater RID angle.</li>
	<li>Give the participants a break after each block of trials. In this example the 140 trials are made up of 20 repetitions at each of 7 different RID angles for the test curve: 3 angles less than 45&#176;, 3 angles greater than 45&#176; and 1 RID at precisely 45&#176; -&#160;the same as the reference curve.</li>
	<li>At the end of each run the computer plots out data describing the proportion of times that the participant chose the test stimulus as being at a RID angle greater than 45&#176;, as a function of the presented RID angle (see example data points in Figure 4).</li>
	<li>Let the software fit the data with a Cumulative Gaussian function in order to determine the precision with which they are able to make the RID discrimination. This precision is given by the parameter of the fitted function that determines slope (see example solid lines in Figure 4).</li>
	<li>Obtain the slope from each plot. The slope estimates for the stereo and nonstereo conditions can then be statistically compared in order to determine whether stereoscopic cues have contributed to an observer&#8217;s ability to detect a change in RID.</li>
</ol>

<ol>
	<li>Bennett, D. J., Vuong, Q. C. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=A+stereo+advantage+in+generalizing+over+changes+in+viewpoint+on+object+recognition+tasks.">A stereo advantage in generalizing over changes in viewpoint on object recognition tasks.</a> Percep. Psychophys. 68, 1082-1093 (2006).</li><li>Bulthoff, H. H., Edelman, S. Y., Tarr, M. J. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=How+are+three-dimensional+objects+represented+in+the+brain?.">How are three-dimensional objects represented in the brain?.</a> Cereb. Cortex. 5, 247-260 (1995).</li><li>Burke, D. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Combining+disparate+views+of+objects:+Viewpoint+costs+are+reduced+by+stereopsis.">Combining disparate views of objects: Viewpoint costs are reduced by stereopsis.</a> Vis. Cogn. 12, 705-719 (2005).</li><li>Burke, D., Taubert, J., Higman, T. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Are+face+representations+viewpoint+dependent?+A+stereo+advantage+for+generalising+across+different+views+of+faces.">Are face representations viewpoint dependent? A stereo advantage for generalising across different views of faces.</a> Vis. Res. 47, 2164-2169 (2007).</li><li>Edelman, S., Bulthoff, H. H. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Orientation+dependence+in+the+recognition+of+familiar+and+novel+views+of+three-dimensional+objects.">Orientation dependence in the recognition of familiar and novel views of three-dimensional objects.</a> Vis. Res. 32, 2385-2400 (1992).</li><li>Lim Lee, Y., Saunders, J. A. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Stereo+improves+3D+shape+discrimination+even+when+rich+monocular+shape+cues+are+available.">Stereo improves 3D shape discrimination even when rich monocular shape cues are available.</a> J. Vis. 11, (2011).</li><li>Parr, L. A., Siebert, E., Taubert, J. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Effect+of+familiarity+and+viewpoint+on+face+recognition+in+chimpanzees.">Effect of familiarity and viewpoint on face recognition in chimpanzees.</a> Perception. 40, 863-872 (2011).</li><li>Bell, J., Dickinson, J. E., Badcock, D. R. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Radial+frequency+adaptation+suggests+polar-based+coding+of+local+shape+cues.">Radial frequency adaptation suggests polar-based coding of local shape cues.</a> Vis. Res. 48, 2293-2301 (2008).</li><li>Wade, N. J. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=On+the+late+invention+of+the+stereoscope.">On the late invention of the stereoscope.</a> Perception. 16, 785-818 (1987).</li><li>Bell, J., Kanji, J., Kingdom, F. A. A. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Discrimination+of+rotated-in-depth+curves+is+facilitated+by+stereoscopic+cues,+but+curvature+is+not+tuned+for+stereoscopic+rotation-in-depth.">Discrimination of rotated-in-depth curves is facilitated by stereoscopic cues, but curvature is not tuned for stereoscopic rotation-in-depth.</a> Vis. Res. 77, 14-20 (2013).</li><li>Regan, D. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=.">.</a> Human Perception of Objects. , (2000).</li><li>Howard, I. P., Rogers, B. J. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=.">.</a> Binocular Vision and Stereopsis. , (1995).</li><li>Kingdom, F. A. A., Prins, N. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=.">.</a> Psychophysics: A Practical Introduction. , (2010).</li><li>Kingdom, F. A. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Color+brings+relief+to+human+vision.">Color brings relief to human vision.</a> Nat. Neurosci. 6, 641-644 (2003).</li><li>Ustinova, K. I., Perkins, J. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Gaze+and+viewing+angle+influence+visual+stabilization+of+upright+posture.">Gaze and viewing angle influence visual stabilization of upright posture.</a> Brain Behav. 1, 19-25 (1002).</li><li>Shieh, K. -. K., Lee, D. -. S. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Preferred+viewing+distance+and+screen+angle+of+electronic+paper+displays.">Preferred viewing distance and screen angle of electronic paper displays.</a> Appl. Ergon. 38, 601-608 (2007).</li></ol>

The authors declare that they have no competing financial interests. The first author Jason Bell, is a full-time employee of the Australian National University; David Badcock and J Edwin Dickinson are full-time employees of the University of Western Australia; Fred&#160;Kingdom is a full-time employee of McGill University.

The methods discussed in this communication can be used by any researcher seeking to address questions related to discrimination and/or recognition of viewpoint rotated objects. Importantly, the method of perspective projection is not limited to the stimuli demonstrated here; instead it can be applied to a wide range of experimental stimuli, from lines to pictures of complex objects. Our introduction describes ways to apply this transformation using custom software, or library software such as MATLAB.
<p class="jove_...

Many studies have shown that the speed and accuracy of object recognition is compromised by a change in viewpoint1-7. For example, face recognition is best when the face is viewed in the fronto-parallel plane, i.e. &#34;front on&#34;, and declines systematically as the face is rotated in depth away from the fronto-parallel plane. Changes in viewpoint can occur either when the observer, or the viewed object, moves. Importantly, the viewpoint cost is often reduced by the introduction of stereoscopic cues to the observer1-4,6,8. It is, however, important to distinguish between the rotation of 3D and planar objects. The former may reveal new textures or structural information under rotation while this does not occur with planar objects. In this communication we discuss a method for simulating the appearance of planar shapes and objects that have been subject to rotation-in-depth, or RID. We describe an apparatus for turning the two-dimensional projection of a RID image into a vivid 3D (three-dimensional) percept of RID that is based on the Wheatstone mirror stereoscope9. Finally, we report a psychophysical method for determining whether stereoscopic (3D) cues influence our sensitivity to viewpoint change. Movie 1 demonstrates how the appearance of a shape is altered by a viewpoint change/RID.
Simulating a Viewpoint Change
When an object is subject to RID it does not of course physically change in identity or shape. However from the observer&#8217;s viewpoint, the shape does change. For instance, if you hold a sheet of paper directly in front of you in landscape view, the image of the paper in your eye, termed the retinal image, is a horizontal rectangle. If you then rotate the paper around its central vertical axis, the retinal image becomes foreshortened along the horizontal (see Figure 1 for a demonstration). Ultimately, if you rotate the paper through 90&#176; the retinal image is a thin strip the thickness of the paper. Thus the largest change to the image of the sheet of paper that has been subject to RID is a horizontal compression of its shape. A smaller change gradient of change occurs in the vertical extent with the image being taller for the nearest edge unchanged at the axis of rotation and shorter for the farther edge.
A RID can be simulated by appropriate transformation of images using software packages or by writing one&#8217;s own code8,10. Readers wishing to know more about RID can consult relevant texts and websites concerned with viewpoint transformations, or learn about built-in functions in the image processing software of packages such as those listed in our Materials. However, when transforming an image of a stimulus on a screen to represent a particular angle of RID there is an additional consideration: which type of projection to use, orthographic or perspective? When we view a scene, nearby objects produce larger retinal images than farther away objects. For a 2D (two-dimensional) object that is subject to RID this means that the far side is compressed more than the near side, as Figure 1 illustrates (see in particular the bottom right figure which has a RID of 60&#176;). The magnitude of the compression asymmetry is dependent upon the size of the object being subject to RID, and on our distance from it. Perspective projection incorporates this compression asymmetry whereas orthographic projection simply ignores it by assigning the same dimensions to the near and far sides of the RID object. Since an observer viewing a planar object rotate will be presented with this asymmetry we will use perspective projection here. Another advantage of our method is that the projection takes into account viewing distance from observer to screen. We have previously used our RID method to simulate viewpoint rotated shapes in both 2D perspective projection and in 3D8,10.
Simulating a 3D Viewpoint Change
In order to simulate stereoscopic RID one needs to present slightly different images to the left and right eyes. This difference between the two images is known as binocular disparity11, and is a function of both viewing distance and between-eye separation, specifically the inter-pupillary distance. Returning to the example of our sheet of paper in landscape view, if we rotate the piece of paper around the vertical center, clockwise by 45&#176; (so the left edge is receding), each eye&#8217;s view of the paper is slightly different. The image projected onto the left eye is slightly less than 45&#176; rotation while the image projected onto the right eye is slightly more than 45&#176; rotation (see Figure 2 for an illustration - observers who can free fuse the top two images will perceive a RID in 3D). If the appropriate RID angles are presented separately to the left and right eyes (the stereo condition) they will produce a disparity gradient and the observer is likely to report a vivid impression of a 3D RID. However if identical images, representing a 45&#176; rotation from the central viewing point, are presented to both eyes (the nonstereo condition) the observer will see a 2D representation of the RID stimuli. An established method for presenting separate images to the left and right eyes using a single monitor is to use a modification of the mirror stereoscope originally developed by Sir Charles Wheatstone in the mid 19th century12 &#8211; see Figure&#160;3. When the two stereo-half-images are positioned at corresponding locations in each eye&#8217;s view, they can be binocularly fused to produce a 3D percept (see Howard and Rogers12 for an extensive review of stereo methods and limitations).
By combining a simulated viewpoint change with stereoscopic presentation we can determine, for example, the role that stereoscopic cues play in our ability to detect changes in viewpoint. The demonstration results below reveal that when the size of a planar object, in this case a curved contour, is known or familiar to the observer, the change in the 2D width of the curve (sometimes termed its sag) is used to detect the change in RID, i.e. viewpoint (see Bell et al.10 for the full manuscript on this effect). Below we describe in detail a psychophysical method for measuring sensitivity to RID change for 2D- and 3D-defined planar shapes.

<table><tbody><tr><td>Stereo testing</td><td>http://www.stereooptical.com/products/stereotests</td><td>Titmus stereofly test</td><td>Handheld testing devices</td></tr><tr><td>Prebuilt stereo devices</td><td>http://www.stereoaids.com.au</td><td>prebuilt stereoscopes</td><td>Suitable for desktop and laptop computers</td></tr><tr><td>Mirror stereoscope</td><td>Custom made; or, Edmundoptics</td><td>8 mirror stereoscope</td><td>www.edmundoptics.com</td></tr><tr><td>Graphics card</td><td>NVidia</td><td></td><td>NVidia or ATI recommended</td></tr><tr><td>Experimental control software</td><td>MATLAB</td><td></td><td>MATLAB, Python, C++, Visual Basic recommended</td></tr><tr><td>Experimental control software</td><td>Psychtoolbox.org</td><td>Psychtoolbox</td><td>Free to download but requires MATLAB</td></tr><tr><td>Statistical software</td><td>Graphpad</td><td>Prism V5</td><td>http://www.graphpad.com/</td></tr><tr><td>Statistical software</td><td>Palamedes</td><td>Psychophysics guide</td><td>http://www.palamedestoolbox.org</td></tr><tr><td>3D Projection documentation</td><td>Wikipedia</td><td></td><td>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3D_projection</td></tr></tbody></table>

measuring sensitivity to viewpoint change with and without stereoscopic cues

The speed and accuracy of object recognition is compromised by a change in viewpoint; demonstrating that human observers are sensitive to this transformation. Here we discuss a novel method for simulating the appearance of an object that has undergone a rotation-in-depth, and include an exposition of the differences between perspective and orthographic projections. Next we describe a method by which human sensitivity to rotation-in-depth can be measured. Finally we discuss an apparatus for creating a vivid percept of a 3-dimensional rotation-in-depth; the Wheatstone Eight Mirror Stereoscope. By doing so, we reveal a means by which to evaluate the role of stereoscopic cues in the discrimination of viewpoint rotated shapes and objects.

Figure 4 plots example results obtained from such an experiment. The y-axis in each figure describes the proportion of times that the test pattern was chosen as having a greater RID. Rather than plotting the absolute number of times this occurred, this is given as a proportion. The x-axis describes the physical RID of the test pattern; remembering that here, the reference pattern was held at a constant 45&#176; RID. The data points represent the proportion of times that the observer chose the test curve ...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Measuring Sensitivity to Viewpoint Change with and without Stereoscopic Cues at JoVE.com

Measuring Sensitivity to Viewpoint Change with and without Stereoscopic Cues

We discuss a novel method forviewpoint-rotation of visual stimuli, and demonstrate using a mirror stereoscopethe three-dimensional percept of rotation-in-depth. The technique can be used to investigate the role of stereoscopic cues in encoding viewpoint-rotated figures.

The speed and accuracy of object recognition is compromised by a change in viewpoint; demonstrating that human observers are sensitive to this ...

measuring-sensitivity-to-viewpoint-change-with-without-stereoscopic

Research

JoVE Journal

Behavior

4.4K Views.  Australian National University. We discuss a novel method forviewpoint-rotation of visual stimuli, and demonstrate using a mirror stereoscopethe three-dimensional percept of rotation-in-depth. The technique can be used to investigate the role of stereoscopic cues in encoding viewpoint-rotated figures.

Video: Measuring Sensitivity to Viewpoint Change with and without Stereoscopic Cues

Perceptual and Category Processing of the Uncanny Valley Hypothesis' Dimension of Human Likeness: Some Methodological Issues

Mori's Uncanny Valley Hypothesis1,2 proposes that the perception of humanlike characters such as robots and, by extension, avatars (computer-generated characters) can evoke negative or positive affect (valence) depending on the object's degree of visual and behavioral realism along a dimension of human likeness (DHL) (Figure 1). But studies of affective valence of subjective responses to variously realistic non-human characters have produced inconsistent findings 3, 4, 5, 6. One of a number of reasons for this is that human likeness is not perceived as the hypothesis assumes. While the DHL can be defined following Mori's description as a smooth linear change in the degree of physical humanlike similarity, subjective perception of objects along the DHL can be understood in terms of the psychological effects of categorical perception (CP) 7. Further behavioral and neuroimaging investigations of category processing and CP along the DHL and of the potential influence of the dimension's underlying category structure on affective experience are needed. This protocol therefore focuses on the DHL and allows examination of CP. Based on the protocol presented in the video as an example, issues surrounding the methodology in the protocol and the use in "uncanny" research of stimuli drawn from morph continua to represent the DHL are discussed in the article that accompanies the video. The use of neuroimaging and morph stimuli to represent the DHL in order to disentangle brain regions neurally responsive to physical human-like similarity from those responsive to category change and category processing is briefly illustrated.

Investigation of the Uncanny Valley Hypothesis and affective experience requires an understanding of the hypothesis' dimension of human likeness (DHL). This protocol allows representation of the DHL and examination of categorical perception. Use of the same stimuli and fMRI to distinguish brain regions responsive to physical and category change is illustrated.

Mori's Uncanny Valley Hypothesis1,2 proposes that the perception of humanlike characters such as robots and, by extension, avatars (computer-generated ...

How to Create and Use Binocular Rivalry

Each of our eyes normally sees a slightly different image of the world around us. The brain can combine these two images into a single coherent representation. However, when the eyes are presented with images that are sufficiently different from each other, an interesting thing happens: Rather than fusing the two images into a combined conscious percept, what transpires is a pattern of perceptual alternations where one image dominates awareness while the other is suppressed; dominance alternates between the two images, typically every few seconds. This perceptual phenomenon is known as binocular rivalry. Binocular rivalry is considered useful for studying perceptual selection and awareness in both human and animal models, because unchanging visual input to each eye leads to alternations in visual awareness and perception. To create a binocular rivalry stimulus, all that is necessary is to present each eye with a different image at the same perceived location. There are several ways of doing this, but newcomers to the field are often unsure which method would best suit their specific needs. The purpose of this article is to describe a number of inexpensive and straightforward ways to create and use binocular rivalry. We detail methods that do not require expensive specialized equipment and describe each method's advantages and disadvantages. The methods described include the use of red-blue goggles, mirror stereoscopes and prism goggles.

Binocular rivalry occurs when the eyes are presented with different images at the same location: one image dominates while the other is suppressed, and dominance alternates periodically. Rivalry is useful for investigating perceptual selection and visual awareness. Here we describe several easy methods for creating and using binocular rivalry stimuli.

Each of our eyes normally sees a slightly different image of the world around us. The brain can combine these two images into a single coherent ...

Neuroscience

Vision Training Methods for Sports Concussion Mitigation and Management

There is emerging evidence supporting the use vision training, including light board training tools, as a concussion baseline and neuro-diagnostic tool and potentially as a supportive component to concussion prevention strategies. This paper is focused on providing detailed methods for select vision training tools and reporting normative data for comparison when vision training is a part of a sports management program. The overall program includes standard vision training methods including tachistoscope, Brock&#8217;s string, and strobe glasses, as well as specialized light board training algorithms. Stereopsis is measured as a means to monitor vision training affects. In addition, quantitative results for vision training methods as well as baseline and post-testing *A and Reaction Test measures with progressive scores are reported. Collegiate athletes consistently improve after six weeks of training in their stereopsis, *A and Reaction Test scores. When vision training is initiated as a team wide exercise, the incidence of concussion decreases in players who participate in training compared to players who do not receive the vision training. Vision training produces functional and performance changes that, when monitored, can be used to assess the success of the vision training and can be initiated as part of a sports medical intervention for concussion prevention.

This paper describes a protocol to conduct, quantitatively monitor, and assess the success of vision training initiated as part of a sports medical management program including intervention for concussion prevention and performance enhancement.

There is emerging evidence supporting the use vision training, including light board training tools, as a concussion baseline and neuro-diagnostic tool ...

Visualization Method for Proprioceptive Drift on a 2D Plane Using Support Vector Machine

Proprioceptive drift, which is a perceptual shift in body-part position from the unseen real body to a visible body-like image, has been measured as the behavioral correlate for the sense of ownership. Previously, the estimation of proprioceptive drift was limited to one spatial dimension, such as height, width, or depth. As the hand can move freely in 3D, measuring proprioceptive drift in only one dimension is not sufficient for the estimation of the drift in real life situations. In this article, we provide a novel method to estimate proprioceptive drift on a 2D plane using the mirror illusion by combining an objective behavioral measurement (hand position tracking) and subjective, phenomenological assessment (subjective assessment of hand position and questionnaire) with a sophisticated machine learning approach. This technique permits not only an investigation of the underlying mechanisms of the sense of ownership and agency but also assists in the rehabilitation of a missing or paralyzed limb and in the design rules of real-time control systems with a self-body-like usability, in which the operator controls the system as if it were part of his/her own body.

This article describes a novel method to estimate proprioceptive drift on a 2D plane using the mirror illusion and combining a psychophysical procedure with an analysis using machine learning.

Proprioceptive drift, which is a perceptual shift in body-part position from the unseen real body to a visible body-like image, has been measured as the ...

A Method for Investigating Change Blindness in Pigeons (Columba Livia)

Change blindness is a phenomenon of visual attention, whereby changes to a visual display go unnoticed under certain specific circumstances. While many laboratory procedures have been developed that produce change blindness in humans, the flicker paradigm has emerged as a particularly effective method. In the flicker paradigm, two visual displays are presented in alternation with one another. If successive displays are separated by a short inter-stimulus interval (ISI), change detection is impaired. The simplicity of the procedure and the clear, performance-based operational definition of change blindness make the flicker paradigm well-suited to comparative research using nonhuman animals. Indeed, a variant has been developed that can be implemented in operant chambers to study change blindness in pigeons. Results indicate that pigeons, like humans, are worse at detecting the location of a change if two consecutive displays are separated in time by a blank ISI. Furthermore, pigeons&#39; change detection is consistent with an active, location-by-location search process that requires selective attention. The flicker task thus has the potential to contribute to investigations of the dynamics of pigeons&#39; selective spatial attention in comparison to humans. It also illustrates that the phenomenon of change blindness is not exclusive to humans&#39; visual perception, but may instead be a general consequence of selective attention. Finally, while the useful aspects of attention are widely appreciated and understood, it is also important to acknowledge that they may be accompanied by specific imperfections such as change blindness, and that these imperfections have consequences across a wide range of contexts.

A Method for Investigating Change Blindness in Pigeons Columba Livia

Change blindness is a phenomenon of visual attention, whereby changes to a visual display go unnoticed under certain specific circumstances. This protocol describes a variation on the flicker paradigm for investigating change blindness that is appropriate and effective for research with pigeons.

Change blindness is a phenomenon of visual attention, whereby changes to a visual display go unnoticed under certain specific circumstances. While many ...

Investigating the Deployment of Visual Attention Before Accurate and Averaging Saccades via Eye Tracking and Assessment of Visual Sensitivity

This experimental protocol was designed to investigate whether visual attention is obligatorily deployed at the endpoint of saccades. To this end, we recorded the eye position of human participants engaged in a saccade task via eye tracking and assessed visual orientation discrimination performance at various locations during saccade preparation. Importantly, instead of using a single saccade target paradigm for which the saccade endpoint typically coincides roughly with the target, this protocol comprised the presentation of two nearby saccade targets, leading to a distinct spatial dissociation between target locations and saccade endpoint on a substantial number of trials. The paradigm allowed us to compare presaccadic visual discrimination performance at the endpoint of accurate saccades (landing at one of the saccade targets) and of averaging saccades (landing at an intermediate location in between the two targets). We observed a selective enhancement of visual sensitivity at the endpoint of accurate saccades but not at the endpoint of averaging saccades. Rather, before the execution of averaging saccades, visual sensitivity was equally enhanced at both targets, suggesting that saccade averaging follows from unresolved attentional selection among the saccade targets. These results argue against a mandatory coupling between visual attention and saccade programming based on a direct measure of presaccadic visual sensitivity rather than saccadic reaction times, which have been used in other protocols to draw similar conclusions. While our protocol provides a useful framework to investigate the relationship between visual attention and saccadic eye movements at the behavioral level, it can also be combined with electrophysiological measures to extend insights at the neuronal level.

This experimental protocol combined eye tracking and the assessment of presaccadic visual sensitivity in a dual task paradigm, consisting of a free choice saccade task and a visual discrimination task, to investigate the deployment of visual spatial attention before both, accurate and averaging saccades.

This experimental protocol was designed to investigate whether visual attention is obligatorily deployed at the endpoint of saccades. To this end, we ...

Stereoacuity Improvement using Random-Dot Video Games

Conventional amblyopia therapy involves occlusion or penalization of the dominant eye, though these methods enhance stereoscopic visual acuity in fewer than 30% of cases. To improve these results, we propose a treatment in the form of a video game, using random-dot stimuli and perceptual learning techniques to stimulate stereoacuity. The protocol is defined for stereo-deficient patients between 7-14 years of age who have already received treatment for amblyopia and have a monocular best corrected distance visual acuity of at least 0.1 logMAR. Patients are required to complete a perceptual learning program at home using the video game. While compliance is stored automatically in the cloud, periodic optometry center visits are used to track patient evolution and adjust the game&#39;s stereoscopic demand until the smallest detectable disparity is achieved. The protocol has proved to be successful, and effectiveness is gauged in terms of a two-level gain on a random stereoacuity test (global stereoacuity or cyclopean stereoacuity reference test). Moreover, the random-dot stimuli learning transfers to medial lateral stereoscopic acuity according to a Wirt Circles test, in which success criteria is a final stereoacuity of over 140&#34;, and the attained enhancement corresponds to no less than two levels of stereoscopic acuity. Six months later, a random-dot stereoacuity test recorded no reduction in the stereoacuity that was achieved.

Presented here is a protocol to improve stereoacuity using gamified perceptual learning software based on random-dot stimuli. Patients are stereo-deficient subjects without strabismus. The protocol combines optometry center visits with home exercises using software. Compliance and stereoacuity evolution are stored in the cloud.

Conventional amblyopia therapy involves occlusion or penalization of the dominant eye, though these methods enhance stereoscopic visual acuity in fewer ...

Assessing Binocular Central Visual Field and Binocular Eye Movements in a Dichoptic Viewing Condition

Macular degeneration typically results in heterogeneous binocular central visual defects. Currently available approaches to assess central visual field, like the microperimetry, can test only one eye at a time. Therefore, they cannot explain how the defects in each eye affect the binocular interaction and real-world function. Dichoptic stimulus presentation with a gaze-controlled system could provide a reliable measure of monocular/binocular visual fields. However, dichoptic stimulus presentation and simultaneous eye-tracking are challenging because optical devices of instruments that present stimulus dichoptically (e.g., haploscope) always interfere with eye-trackers (e.g., infrared video-based eye-trackers). Therefore, the goals were 1) to develop a method for dichoptic stimulus presentation with simultaneous eye-tracking, using 3D-shutter glasses and 3D-ready monitors, that is not affected by interference and 2) to use this method to develop a protocol for assessing central visual field in subjects with central vision loss. The results showed that this setup provides a practical solution for reliably measuring eye-movements in dichoptic viewing condition. In addition, it was also demonstrated that this method can assess gaze-controlled binocular central visual field in subjects with central vision loss.

Presented here is a protocol for assessing binocular eye movements and gaze-controlled central visual field screening in participants with central vision loss.

Macular degeneration typically results in heterogeneous binocular central visual defects. Currently available approaches to assess central visual field, ...

Controlled Rotation of Human Observers in a Virtual Reality Environment

The low cost and availability of Virtual Reality (VR) systems have supported a recent acceleration of research into perception and behavior under more naturalistic, multisensory, and immersive conditions. One area of research that has particularly benefited from the use of VR systems is multisensory integration, for example, the integration of visual and vestibular cues to give rise to a sense of self-motion. For this reason, an accessible method for the controlled physical rotation of an observer in a virtual environment represents a useful innovation. This paper presents a method for automating the rotation of an office swivel chair along with a method for integrating that motion into a VR experience. Using an example experiment, it is demonstrated that the physical motion, thus produced, is integrated with the visual experience of an observer in a way consistent with expectations; high integration when the motion is congruent with the visual stimulus and low integration when the motion is incongruent.

The controlled physical rotation of a human observer is desirable for certain experimental, recreational, and educational applications. This paper outlines a method for converting an office swivel chair into a medium for controlled physical rotation in a virtual reality environment.

The low cost and availability of Virtual Reality (VR) systems have supported a recent acceleration of research into perception and behavior under more ...

 Evaluating Stereopsis in Unilateral Amblyopia: A Comparative Study

Comparison of Three Clinical Stereoscopic Methods for Measuring Binocular Visual Function During Amblyopic Treatment in Unilateral Amblyopia

This study aimed to compare the measuring stereopsis results of unilateral amblyopia during amblyopic treatment by employing some of the most widely used clinical tests. Thirty-four individuals with previously untreated unilateral amblyopia, aged 8.4 &#177; 2.7 years, were included in the study. Monocular (best corrected visual acuity [BCVA] at distance) and binocular (including Titmus, Random-dot, and Frisby stereopsis) visual functions were measured at baseline and 2-month and 6-month visits after synthetical treatment.
We found that Titmus stereopsis was always significantly better than Random-dot stereopsis (p &#60; 0.001). Frisby stereopsis was also always significantly better than Random-dot stereopsis (p &#60; 0.001). However, there was no significant difference between Titmus stereopsis and Frisby stereopsis (p = 0.562). However, interestingly, there was no significant difference in the mean improvement of the three stereopsis methods from baseline to the 2-month visit, F = 1.158, p = 0.318.
Similarly, a significant difference was also lacking in the mean improvement of the three stereopsis methods from baseline to the 6-month visit, F = 0.302, p = 0.740. We conclude that there will be different results obtained from different stereopsis measuring methods used to measure amblyopia in patients. We recommend performing at least two types of stereoscopic measurements to evaluate each case of amblyopia. However, for observing therapeutic effects, each measurement method has the same performance for clinical results during amblyopic treatment.

Here, we present three common stereopsis measurement methods to measure patients with amblyopia and the comparison of the efficacy of different methods.

This study aimed to compare the measuring stereopsis results of unilateral amblyopia during amblyopic treatment by employing some of the most widely used ...