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Efficient Coding Theory Predicts a Tilt Aftereffect from Viewing Untilted Patterns

May, KA; Zhaoping, L; (2016) Efficient Coding Theory Predicts a Tilt Aftereffect from Viewing Untilted Patterns. Current Biology , 26 (12) pp. 1571-1576. 10.1016/j.cub.2016.04.037. Green open access

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Abstract

The brain is bombarded with a continuous stream of sensory information, but biological limitations on the data-transmission rate require this information to be encoded very efficiently [1]. Li and Atick [2] proposed that the two eyes’ signals are coded efficiently in the brain using mutually decorrelated binocular summation and differencing channels; when a channel is strongly stimulated by the visual input, such that sensory noise is negligible, the channel should undergo temporary desensitization (known as adaptation). To date, the evidence for this theory has been limited [3 and 4], and the binocular differencing channel is missing from many models of binocular integration [5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10]. Li and Atick’s theory makes the remarkable prediction that perceived direction of tilt (clockwise or counterclockwise) of a test pattern can be controlled by pre-exposing observers to visual adaptation patterns that are untilted or even have no orientation signal. Here, we confirm this prediction. Each test pattern consisted of different images presented to the two eyes such that the binocular summation and difference signals were tilted in opposite directions, to give ambiguous information about tilt; by selectively desensitizing one or other of the binocular channels using untilted or non-oriented binocular adaptation patterns, we controlled the perceived tilt of the test pattern. Our results provide compelling evidence that the brain contains binocular summation and differencing channels that adapt to the prevailing binocular statistics.

Type: Article
Title: Efficient Coding Theory Predicts a Tilt Aftereffect from Viewing Untilted Patterns
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2016.04.037
Publisher version: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2016.04.037
Language: English
Additional information: © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed in accordance with the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt and build upon this work, for commercial use, provided the original work is properly cited. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Keywords: Science & Technology, Life Sciences & Biomedicine, Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Cell Biology, BINOCULAR INTERACTION, RHESUS-MONKEY, VISUAL-CORTEX, VISION, PERCEPTION, CONTRAST, DEPTH, ADAPTATION, MECHANISMS, STEREOPSIS
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1503731
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