A bias in heading estimation is observed if an extraneous object moves so as to obscure the focus of expansion of an optic flow field generated by linear translation. This bias, however, has only been shown for simple, non-articulated objects with no social or behavioural relevance. Contrastingly, objects in the real world are often much more complex and can be comprised of multiple, differentl...

During a study on the genetic control of winterhardiness in winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L. group aestivum), a gene that affected vernalization was found on chromosome 3B in the winter wheat cultivar ;Wichita.' When chromosome 3B from Wichita was substituted into the winter wheat cultivar ;Cheyenne,' the resultant substitution line exhibited a spring growth habit. This is unusual since a cro...

Photoperiod and temperature are two important environmental factors that influence the heading-date of rice. Although the influence of the photoperiod on heading has been extensively reported in rice, the molecular mechanism for the temperature control of heading remains unknown. This study reports an early heading mutant derived from tissue culture lines of rice and investigates the heading-da...

To steer a course through the world, people are almost entirely dependent on visual information, of which a key component is optic flow. In many models of locomotion, heading is described as the fundamental control variable; however, it has also been shown that fixating points along or near one's future path could be the basis of an efficient control solution. Here, the authors aim to establish...

Inertial navigation based on micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) inertial measurement units (IMUs) has attracted numerous researchers due to its high reliability and independence. The heading estimation, as one of the most important parts of inertial navigation, has been a research focus in this field. Heading estimation using magnetometers is perturbed by magnetic disturbances, such as indoo...

Heading direction is determined from visual and vestibular cues. Both sensory modalities have been shown to have better direction discrimination for headings near straight ahead. Previous studies of visual heading estimation have not used the full range of stimuli, and vestibular heading estimation has not previously been reported. The current experiments measure human heading estimation in the...

The photoperiodic response is one of the most important factors determining heading date in rice (Oryza sativa). Although rhythmic expression patterns of flowering time genes have been reported to fine-tune the photoperiodic response, posttranslational regulation of key flowering regulators has seldom been elucidated in rice. Heading date 1 (Hd1) encodes a zinc finger transcription factor that ...

Sensory input reflects events that occur in the environment, but multiple events may be confounded in sensory signals. For example, under many natural viewing conditions, retinal image motion reflects some combination of self-motion and movement of objects in the world. To estimate one stimulus event and ignore others, the brain can perform marginalization operations, but the neural bases of th...

Optic flow can be used by humans to determine their direction of heading as well as controlling steering. Dot-flow displays have been widely used to investigate these abilities but it is unclear whether photorealistic textures would provide better information for controlling high-speed steering. Here, we examine the accuracy of heading judgements from dot-flow displays of different densities an...

Direction of self-motion during walking is indicated by multiple cues, including optic flow, nonvisual sensory cues, and motor prediction. I measured the reliability of perceived heading from visual and nonvisual cues during walking, and whether cues are weighted in an optimal manner. I used a heading alignment task to measure perceived heading during walking. Observers walked toward a target i...