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Visual Neuroscience

Table of Contents - 2004 - Volume 21, Issue 06  


Local mechanisms for the separation of optic flow-field components in the land crab, Cardisoma guanhumi: A role for motion parallax?

AARON P.  JOHNSON  a1 a2 c1 , W. JON. P.  BARNES  a1 and MARTIN W.S.  MACAULEY  a2
a1 Division of Environmental and Evolutionary Biology, Institute of Biomedical & Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, Scotland, UK
a2 Department of Electronics and Electrical Engineering, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, Scotland, UK

Article author query
johnson ap   [Google Scholar] 
barnes wjp   [Google Scholar] 
macauley mws   [Google Scholar] 
 

Abstract

Although a number of global mechanisms have been proposed over the years that explain how crabs might separate the rotational and translational components of their optic flow field, there has been no evidence to date that local mechanisms such as motion parallax are used in this separation. We describe here a study that takes advantage of a recently developed suite of computer-generated visual stimuli that creates a three-dimensional world surrounding the crab in which we can simulate translational and rotational optic flow. We show that, while motion parallax is not the only mechanism used in flow-field separation, it does play a role in the recognition of translational optic flow fields in that, under conditions of low overall light intensity and low contrast ratio when crabs find the distinction between rotation and translation harder, smaller eye movements occur in response to translation when motion parallax cues are present than when they are absent. Thus, motion parallax is one of many cues that crabs use to separate rotational and translational optic flow by showing compensatory eye movements to only the former.

(Received March 16 2004)
(Accepted September 21 2004)


Key Words: Crab; Optic flow; Motion parallax; Optokinetic responses; Computer-generated visual images.

Correspondence:
c1 Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Aaron P. Johnson, McGill Vision Research Unit, Department of Ophthalmology, 687 Pine Avenue West, H4-14, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, H3A 1A1. E-mail: aaron.johnson1@mcgill.ca