Neural Dynamics of Motion Segmentation and Grouping

Part of Advances in Neural Information Processing Systems 3 (NIPS 1990)

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Authors

Ennio Mingolla

Abstract

A neural network model of motion segmentation by visual cortex is de(cid:173) scribed. The model clarifies how preprocessing of motion signals by a Motion Oriented Contrast Filter (MOC Filter) is joined to long-range co(cid:173) operative motion mechanisms in a motion Cooperative Competitive Loop (CC Loop) to control phenomena such as as induced motion, motion cap(cid:173) ture, and motion aftereffects. The total model system is a motion Bound(cid:173) ary Contour System (BCS) that is computed in parallel with a static BCS before both systems cooperate to generate a boundary representation for three dimensional visual form perception. The present investigations clari(cid:173) fy how the static BCS can be modified for use in motion segmentation prob(cid:173) lems, notably for analyzing how ambiguous local movements (the aperture problem) on a complex moving shape are suppressed and actively reorga(cid:173) nized into a coherent global motion signal.

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INTRODUCTION: WHY ARE STATIC AND MOTION BOUNDARY CONTOUR SYSTEMS NEEDED?

Some regions, notably MT, of visual cortex are specialized for motion processing. However, even the earliest stages of visual cortex processing, such as simple cells in VI, require stimuli that change through time for their maximal activation and are direction-sensitive. Why has evolution generated regions such as MT, when even VI is change-sensitive and direction-sensitive? What computational properties are achieved by MT that are not already available in VI?