Orientation-specific luminance aftereffects

Abstract

Prolonged viewing of bright vertical (horizontal) gratings alternating with dim horizontal (vertical) gratings generates negative brightness aftereffects that are contingent on the orientation of orthogonal test gratings. The effect is measured by a brightness cancellation technique, similar to the color cancellation technique used in measuring McCollough effects. Like the latter, brightness aftereffects appear to persist for long periods. The magnitude of these aftereffects is a positive monotonic function of the luminance difference between the inducing gratings, and it depends on the conditions of induction; monocular induction generates larger aftereffects than binocular induction does. The aftereffect transfers interocularly, although its magnitude in the contralateral eye is substantially attenuated; binocular measurement, following monocular induction, results in even smaller aftereffects. An attempt to understand these findings within the computational model of brightness perception developed by Grossberg and Mingolla (1985a, 1985b) is presented.