CORRESPONDENCE MATCHING AND ACTION PLANNING IN CYCLOPEAN VERSUS LUMINANCE APPARENT MOTION PERCEPTION By

by Alan Scott Boydstun, Ph.D. Washington State University May 2009 Chair: Robert Patterson A debate exists regarding the relative processing level of cyclopean-defined motion in the visual system. Some authors have attributed the processing of cyclopean-defined motion to stages in the visual system that enact similar algorithms of motion computation to luminance-defined motion; whereas, other authors attribute the processing of cyclopeandefined motion to cognitive processes that track stimuli features. Thus, the purpose of this study was to provide evidence that bears upon the debate regarding the relative processing stage of cyclopean motion. To explore this debate we utilized an action capture paradigm. Action capture refers to the possible influence of bodily movements on visual perception. In this study, we used bi-directional hand movements as a possible bias for the perception of motion direction in an ambiguous apparent motion display. Thus, observers (N = 60) executed (Experiments 1 and 2) or planned (Experiment 3) directional (i.e. horizontal, vertical, or none) hand movements while viewing either luminanceor cyclopean-defined apparent motion. It was predicted that if cyclopean motion is processed at a relatively higher stage