A Laminar Cortical Model for 3D Perception of Slanted and Curved Surfaces and of 2D Images: Developement, attention, and Bistability

A model of laminar visual cortical dynamics proposes how 3D boundary and surface representations of slanted and eurved 3D objeets and 2D images arise. The 3D boundary representations emerge from interactions between non-elassical horizontal receptive field interactions with intracortical and intercortical feedback circuits. Such non-classieal interactions contextually disambiguate classieal receptive field responses to ambiguous visual cues using cells that a.re sensitive to angles and disparity gradients within cortical areas Vl ancl V2. These cells are all variants of bipole grouping cells. Model sirnulations show how horizontal connections can develop cell selectivity to angles, how slanted surfaces can activate 3D boundary representations that arc sensitive to angles and disparity gradients, how 3D filling-in occurs across slanted surfaces, how a 2D Necker cube image can be represented in 3D, and how bistable Necker cube percepts occur. The model also explains data about slant aftereffects and 3D neon color spreading. It shows how habituat.ivc transmitters that help to control development also help to trigger bistable 3D percepts and slant aftereffects, and how attention can influence which of these percepts is perceived by propagating selectively along some object boundaries.