Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-jkksz Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T18:41:32.503Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Linking appearance to neural activity through the study of the perception of lightness in naturalistic contexts

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 July 2013

MARIANNE MAERTENS  and
ROBERT SHAPLEY
MARIANNE MAERTENS*
Affiliation:
Modellierung Kognitiver Prozesse, Technische Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
ROBERT SHAPLEY
Affiliation:
Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York
*
*Address correspondence to: Marianne Maertens, Modellierung Kognitiver Prozesse, Technische Universität Berlin, Marchstrasse 23, 10587 Berlin, Germany, E-mail: marianne.maertens@tu-berlin.de
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The present paper deals with the classical question how a psychological experience, in this case apparent lightness, is linked by intervening neural processing to physical variables. We address two methodological issues: (a) how does one know the appropriate physical variable (what is the right x?) to look at, and (b) how can behavioral measurements be used to probe the internal transformation that leads to psychological experience. We measured so-called lightness transfer functions (LTFs), that is the functions that describe the mapping between retinal luminance and perceived lightness for naturalistic checkerboard stimuli. The LTFs were measured for different illumination situations: plain view, a cast shadow, and an intervening transparent medium. Observers adjusted the luminance of a comparison patch such that it had the same lightness as each of the test patches. When the data were plotted in luminance–luminance space, we found qualitative differences between mapping functions in different contexts. These differences were greatly diminished when the data were plotted in terms of contrast. On contrast–contrast coordinates, the data were compatible with a single linear generative model. This result is an indication that, for the naturalistic scenes used here, lightness perception depends mostly on local contrast. We further discuss that, in addition to the mean adjustments, one may find it useful to consider also the variability of an observer’s adjustments in order to infer the true luminance-to-lightness mapping function.

Keywords

LightnessContextContrastNaturalistic scenes
Type
Linking performance and neural mechanisms in adults
Information
Visual Neuroscience , Volume 30 , Special Issue 5-6: Linking Hypotheses in Visual Neuroscience: A Tribute to Davida Teller , November 2013 , pp. 289 - 298
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Adelson, E. (1995). Checkershadow Illusion. http://persci.mit.edu/gallery/checkershadow.Google Scholar
Adelson, E. (2000). Lightness, perception and lightness illusions. In The New Cognitive Neurosciences, ed. Gazzaniga, M., pp. 339–351. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.Google Scholar
Allred, S.R. & Brainard, D.H. (2009). Contrast, constancy, and measurements of perceived lightness under parametric manipulation of surface slant and surface reflectance. Journal of the Optical Society of America. A, Optics, Image Science, and Vision 26, 949–961.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Allred, S.R., Radonjic, A., Gilchrist, A.L. & Brainard, D.H. (2012). Lightness perception in high dynamic range images: Local and remote luminance effects. Journal of Vision 12, 1–16.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Anderson, B.L. & Winawer, J. (2008). Layered image representations and the computation of surface lightness. Journal of Vision 8, 1–22.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Blakeslee, B., Reetz, D. & McCourt, M.E. (2009). Spatial filtering versus anchoring accounts of brightness/lightness perception in staircase and simultaneous brightness/lightness contrast stimuli. Journal of Vision 9(3), 1–17.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
DeValois, R.L., Webster, M.A., DeValois, K.K. & Lingelbach, B. (1986). Temporal properties of brightness and color induction. Vision Research 26, 887–897.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fechner, G.T., ed. (1860). Elemente der Psychophysik. Leipzig: Breitkopf und Hartel.Google Scholar
Gescheider, G.A. (1988). Psychophysical scaling. Annual Review of Psychology 39, 169–200.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gilchrist, A. (2006). Seeing Black and White. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Haynes, J.D., Lotto, R.B. & Rees, G. (2004). Responses of human visual cortex to uniform surfaces. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 101, 4286–4291.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hering, E., ed. (1920). Grundzuege der Lehre vom Lichtsinn. Leipzig: Springer.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hillis, J.M. & Brainard, D.H. (2007). Distinct mechanisms mediate visual detection and identification. Current Biology: CB 17, 1714–1719.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kingdom, F.A. (2011). Lightness, brightness and transparency: A quarter century of new ideas, captivating demonstrations and unrelenting controversy. Vision Research 51, 652–673.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kinoshita, M. & Komatsu, H. (2001). Neural representation of the luminance and brightness of a uniform surface in the macaque primary visual cortex. Journal of Neurophysiology 86, 2559–2570.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Laughlin, S. (1981). A simple coding procedure enhances a neuron’s information capacity. Zeitschrift fur Naturforschung. C, Journal of Biosciences 36, 910–912.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
MacEvoy, S.P. & Paradiso, M.A. (2001). Lightness constancy in primary visual cortex. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 98, 8827–8831.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Maertens, M. & Wichmann, F.A. (2013). When luminance increment thresholds depend on apparent lightness. Journal of Vision. 13, 1–11.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Paradiso, M.A., Blau, S., Huang, X., MacEvoy, S.P., Rossi, A.F. & Shalev, G. (2006). Lightness, filling-in, and the fundamental role of context in visual perception. Progress in Brain Research 155, 109–123.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pelli, D.G. (1985). Uncertainty explains many aspects of visual contrast detection and discrimination. Journal of the Optical Society of America. A, Optics, Image Science, and Vision 2, 1508–1532.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Reid, R.C. & Shapley, R.M. (1988). Brightness induction by local contrast and the spatial dependence of assimilation. Vision Research 28, 115–132.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rudd, M.E. & Zemach, I.K. (2004). Quantitative properties of achromatic color induction: An edge integration analysis. Vision Research 44, 971–981.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shapley, R. & Enroth-Cugell, C. (1984). Visual adaptation and retinal gain controls. In Progress in Retinal Research, Vol. 3, ed. Osborne, N. and Chader, G., pp. 263–346. London: Pergamon.Google Scholar
Singh, M. (2004). Lightness constancy through transparency. Vision Research 44, 1827–1842.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shepard, R.N. (1981). Psychological relations and psychophysical scales: On the status of “direct” psychophysical measurement. Journal of Mathematical Psychology 24, 21–57.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Treisman, M. (1964). Sensory scaling and the psychophysical law. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology 16, 11–22.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wallach, H. (1948). Brightness constancy and the nature of achromatic colors. Journal Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance 38, 310–324.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Whittle, P. & Challands, P.D.C. (1969). The effect of background luminance on the brightness of flashes. Vision Research 9, 1095–1110.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed