Expand this Topic clickable element to expand a topic
Skip to content
Optica Publishing Group

Separating the chaff from the wheat: possible origins of the oblique effect

Not Accessible

Your library or personal account may give you access

Abstract

The oblique effect refers to a better perception of horizontal and vertical image features as compared with the perception at oblique angles. This effect can be observed in both animals and humans. Recent neurophysiological data suggest that the basis of this effect lies in the structure of the primary visual cortex, where more cortical area is devoted to processing contours with angles at horizontal and vertical orientations (cardinal orientations). It has been suggested that this cortical feature has developed according to the statistical properties of natural scenes. To examine this hypothesis in more detail, we established six image classes and categorized the images with respect to their semantical contents. From the images the oriented energy was calculated by using the corresponding power spectra. We defined simple measures for the degree (cardinal versus oblique energy ratio) and the skewness or anisotropy (aligned energy ratio) of the alignment of energy at horizontal and vertical orientations. Our results provide evidence that (1) alignment depends strongly on the environment, (2) the degree of alignment drops off characteristically at higher frequencies, and (3) in natural images there is on the average an anisotropy in the distribution of energy at the cardinal orientations (i.e., a difference between the amounts of vertical energy and horizontal energy). In light of our results, we further discuss whether the observed cortical anisotropy has its origin in phylogeny or ontogeny.

© 2000 Optical Society of America

Full Article  |  PDF Article
More Like This
Image statistics of American Sign Language: comparison with faces and natural scenes

Rain G. Bosworth, Marian Stewart Bartlett, and Karen R. Dobkins
J. Opt. Soc. Am. A 23(9) 2085-2096 (2006)

Color signals in natural scenes: characteristics of reflectance spectra and effects of natural illuminants

Chuan-Chin Chiao, Thomas W. Cronin, and Daniel Osorio
J. Opt. Soc. Am. A 17(2) 218-224 (2000)

Influences of prolonged viewing of tilted lines on perceived line orientation: the normalization and tilt after-effect

Henrikas Vaitkevicius, Vilius Viliunas, Remigijus Bliumas, Rytis Stanikunas, Algimantas Svegzda, Aldona Dzekeviciute, and Janus J. Kulikowski
J. Opt. Soc. Am. A 26(7) 1553-1563 (2009)

Cited By

You do not have subscription access to this journal. Cited by links are available to subscribers only. You may subscribe either as an Optica member, or as an authorized user of your institution.

Contact your librarian or system administrator
or
Login to access Optica Member Subscription

Figures (7)

You do not have subscription access to this journal. Figure files are available to subscribers only. You may subscribe either as an Optica member, or as an authorized user of your institution.

Contact your librarian or system administrator
or
Login to access Optica Member Subscription

Tables (2)

You do not have subscription access to this journal. Article tables are available to subscribers only. You may subscribe either as an Optica member, or as an authorized user of your institution.

Contact your librarian or system administrator
or
Login to access Optica Member Subscription

Equations (5)

You do not have subscription access to this journal. Equations are available to subscribers only. You may subscribe either as an Optica member, or as an authorized user of your institution.

Contact your librarian or system administrator
or
Login to access Optica Member Subscription

Select as filters


Select Topics Cancel
© Copyright 2024 | Optica Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved