Tilt Aftereffect Spreads Across the Visual Field

Abstract

The tilt aftereffect (TAE) is observed when adaptation to a tilted contour alters the perceived tilt of a subsequently presented contour. Thus far, the TAE has been treated as a local aftereffect observed only at the location of the adapter. Whether and how TAE spreads to other locations in the visual field has not been systematically studied. Here we sought an answer to this question by measuring TAE magnitudes at locations including but not limited to the adapter location. The adapter was a tilted grating presented at the same peripheral location throughout an experimental session. In a single trial, participants indicated the perceived tilt of a test grating presented after the adapter at one of fifteen locations in the same hemifield as the adapter. We found non-zero TAE magnitudes in all locations tested, showing that the effect spreads across the tested visual hemifield. Next, to establish a link between neuronal activity and the behavioral results, and to predict possible origins of the spread, we built a model based on known characteristics of neuronal responses in the visual cortex. Simulation results showed that the model can successfully capture the pattern of the behavioral results. Furthermore, the pattern of the optimized receptive field sizes suggests that mid-level visual areas, for example V4, could be critically involved in TAE and its spread across the visual field.