Role of Form Information in Motion Processing

The visual system contains parallel pathways that are specialised for the processing of specific information, e.g. form information (what the object is - ventral pathway) and spatial/motion information (where it is and how its moving - dorsal pathway). While these pathways are separate, there is substantial cross talk between them.

To date, most of the evidence for this cross talk has come from studies showing that motion information can facilitate form processing, e.g. structure from motion, biological motion (ability to tell what an object is merely by seeing the pattern of motion of dots of lights placed on a person's joints) and the ability to enhance object recognition ability in people with apperceptive visual agnosia (the result of damage early in the ventral pathway). Some recent studies have shown that form information can also facilitate motion processing.

Dr Mark Edwards from the Cognition and Perception group here in the School of Psychology has recently obtained an ARC grant to investigate this issue.