Perception of shape-from-motion in macaque monkeys and humans.

Full Abstract

Motion is one of the most efficient cues for shape perception. We conducted behavioral experiments to examine how monkeys perceive shapes defined by motion cues and whether they perceive them as humans do. We trained monkeys to perform a shape discrimination task in which shapes were defined by the motion of random dots. Effects of dot density and dot speed on the shape perception of monkeys were examined. Human subjects were also tested using the same paradigm and the test results were compared with those of monkeys. In both monkeys and humans, correct performance rates declined when density or speed of random dots was reduced. Both of them tended to confuse the same combinations of shapes frequently. These results suggest that monkeys and humans perceive shapes defined by motion cues in a similar manner and probably have common neural mechanisms to perceive them.

Learn Faster Today Improve your study skills

Author information

Author/s: Unno, Shumpei (S); Kuno, Reiko (R); Inoue, Masato (M); Nagasaka, Yasuo (Y); Mikami, Akichika (A);

Affiliation: Department of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University, Kanrin, Inuyama, Aichi 484-8506, Japan.

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Comparative Study; Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Journal: Primates; journal of primatology (Primates), published in Japan. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2003-Apr; vol 44 (issue 2) : pp 177-82

Dates: Created 2003/04/10; Completed 2003/06/13; Revised 2006/11/15;

PMID: 12687483, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 12/26/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

External Links for this article (including full text providers, if available):

Click Electronic Full-text Provider Links to see options for finding the electronic full text links to this article. Note there may be a subscription or fee required for access to the full text. See our FAQ for information on finding FREE full text articles.

This article may also be located in paper journal collections available in many libraries. Use the Journal and Publication Information above to find the full article.

MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Adult
Animals
Cues
Discrimination (Psychology)
Female
Form Perception - physiology

Form Perception - physiology
Humans
Macaca - physiology
Male
Motion Perception - physiology
Reaction Time

These are the highest related articles currently in the database:

See 100+ related articles.