Effects of synchronous representation of contours on shape perception

Abstract

Medial-axis representation of object shape in V1 and the synchronous firing of neurons attract attention as mechanisms of shape perception. Although physiological studies on synchronization have been advanced, the direct evidence of synchronization on shape perception has not been clarified. In the present study, we investigated psychophysically the effect of synchronization on shape perception with stimuli consisting of contours that flicker at distinct synchronous rate. Our results showed that the perception of figure direction is facilitated for an object with higher synchronization rate. The magnitude of modulation in the perception of figure direction was independent of stimuli shape. The results suggest that the synchronization of stimulus contour is crucial for shape perception.