The immediate goal of the proposed research is to learn more about the operating characteristics of the three principal phenomena of binocular vision--stereopsis, binocular rivalry, and binocular combination or fusion. Three related lines of inquiry are proposed, each dealing with one of the three principal phenomena. The method of investigation is the psychophysical paradigm, wherein considerable data are obtained from a relatively small number of human observers. The research on stereopsis is concerned with the way in which depth information is extracted from random-element stereograms and focuses upon the interaction of stereoscopic and physical contours, the contribution of cognitive variables to enhance the perception of stereopsis, the role of experience in perceiving stereopsis, and methods for assessing stereopsis in infants and young children. The research on binocular rivalry is designed to specify more precisely the kind of information that is lost during rivalry suppression and the relationship between rivalry suppression and the kind of suppression associated with binocular anomalies such as strabismus. The research on binocular combination attempts to test the hypothesis that suppression might be operative during the ostensibly cooperative fusion states of normal binocular viewing. The long-range objective of the program is to contribute information that would aid in the development of a general theory of binocular vision that would encompass stereopsis, rivalry, and binocular combination in a single framework. Moreover, the research has implications for both the etiology and the treatment of binocular visual anomalies in humans.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Eye Institute (NEI)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01EY000590-22
Application #
3255451
Study Section
Visual Sciences B Study Section (VISB)
Project Start
1978-09-01
Project End
1986-08-31
Budget Start
1985-09-01
Budget End
1986-08-31
Support Year
22
Fiscal Year
1985
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Department
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
004413456
City
Nashville
State
TN
Country
United States
Zip Code
37203
Fox, R; Oross 3rd, S (1990) Mental retardation and perception of global motion. Percept Psychophys 48:252-8
Blake, R; Westendorf, D; Fox, R (1990) Temporal perturbations of binocular rivalry. Percept Psychophys 48:593-602
Mustillo, P; Francis, E; Oross 3rd, S et al. (1988) Anisotropies in global stereoscopic orientation discrimination. Vision Res 28:1315-21
Fox, R; Oross 3rd, S (1988) Deficits in stereoscopic depth perception by mildly mentally retarded adults. Am J Ment Retard 93:232-44
Oross 3rd, S; Francis, E; Mauk, D et al. (1987) The Ames window illusion: perception of illusory motion by human infants. J Exp Psychol Hum Percept Perform 13:609-13
Mustillo, P; Fox, R (1986) The perception of illusory contours in the hypercyclopean domain. Percept Psychophys 40:362-3
Fox, R; Patterson, R; Francis, E L (1986) Stereoacuity in young children. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 27:598-600
Cormack, R; Fox, R (1985) The computation of disparity and depth in stereograms. Percept Psychophys 38:375-80
Cormack, R; Fox, R (1985) The computation of retinal disparity. Percept Psychophys 37:176-8