Abstract

A variably oriented test grating was presented for identification in angular degrees immediately following 5-s exposure to a high-contrast grating of the same spatial frequency. The adapting grating was fixed at one of four different orientations, each located 15° away from a primary visual axis. The angle of orientation separating the adapting and the test gratings was varied from 0° to ±30° on both sides of the adapting orientation. The visibility of the test grating and its judged orientation following adaptation to the grating were compared with the same quantities following adaptation to a nonstriate control. Significant masking and tilt aftereffects were found as a function of the angle separating the test and masking gratings for every adapting orientation. The results agree with electrophysiological evidence of narrow orientation channels in the visual system and support a structural interpretation of spatially selective mechanisms that are most sensitive to the vertical and horizontal coordinates.

© 1971 Optical Society of America

Orientation-Specific Effects of Patterns of Adapting Light on Visual Acuity*

Alberta S. Gilinsky
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 58(1) 13-18 (1968)

Effect of Masking by Light on the Apparent Contrast of Flashed Gratings*

Thomas R. Corwin
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 61(9) 1172-1176 (1971)

Visual Latency as a Function of Stimulus Onset, Offset, and Background Luminance*

Ralph W. Hansteen
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 61(9) 1190-1195 (1971)

Simultaneously Recorded Retinal and Cortical Responses to Patterned Stimuli*

John C. Armington, Thomas R. Corwin, and Robert Marsetta
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 61(11) 1514-1521 (1971)

Selectivities of Human Visual Mechanisms for Direction of Movement and Contour Orientation*

R. W. Sekuler, E. L. Rubin, and W. H. Cushman
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 58(8) 1146-1150 (1968)