Visual Motion Aftereffects: Critical Adaptation and Test Conditions

The visual motion aftereffect (MAE) typically occurs when stationary contours are presented to a retinal region that has previously been exposed to motion. It can also be generated following observation of a stationary grating when two gratings (above and below it) move laterally: the surrounding gratings induce motion in the opposite direction in the central one. Following adaptation, the centre appears to move in the direction opposite to the previously induced motion, but little or no MAE is visible in the surround gratings [Swanston & Wade (1992) Perception, 21, 569-582]. The stimulus conditions that generate the MAE from induced motion were examined in five experiments. It was found that: the central MAE occurs when tested with stationary centre and surround gratings following adaptation to surround motion alone (Expt 1); no MAEs in either the centre or surround can be measured when the test stimulus is the centre alone or the surround alone (Expt 2); the maximum MAE in the central grating occurs when the same surround region is adapted and tested (Expt 3); the duration of the MAE is dependent upon the spatial frequency of the surround but not the centre (Expt 4); MAEs can be observed in the surround gratings when they are themselves surrounded by stationary gratings during test (Expt 5). It is concluded that the linear MAE occurs as a consequence of adapting restricted retinal regions to motion but it can only be expressed when nonadapted regions are also tested.