Motion induced blindness
Encyclopedia
Motion Induced Blindness (MIB) is a phenomenon
of visual disappearance or perceptual illusions in which salient visual stimuli disappear as if erased in front of an observer's eyes.
and Gregory in 1991. It was rediscovered and named by Bonneh, Cooperman, and Sagi in 2001, who attributed its causes strictly to attentional mechanisms, perceiving the visual system as operating in a winner-takes-it-all manner.
A very similar phenomena is Troxler's fading
(discovered by Troxler in 1804), in which an object away from where one is looking disappears and reappears irregularly without any necessity for a moving background.
Other similar phenomena in which salient stimuli disappear and reappear include binocular rivalry
(discovered by Porta in 1593),
monocular rivalry
(discovered by Breese in 1899),
and flash suppression
.
Researchers speculate about whether this phenomenon appears in real life without us noticing it. Perhaps for some night drivers the red lights of the preceding cars could disappear temporally while he/she is paying attention to the moving lights coming from the other lane.
Phenomenon
A phenomenon , plural phenomena, is any observable occurrence. Phenomena are often, but not always, understood as 'appearances' or 'experiences'...
of visual disappearance or perceptual illusions in which salient visual stimuli disappear as if erased in front of an observer's eyes.
Overview
Motion-induced blindness was discovered by RamachandranVilayanur S. Ramachandran
Vilayanur Subramanian "Rama" Ramachandran, born 1951, is a neuroscientist known for his work in the fields of behavioral neurology and visual psychophysics...
and Gregory in 1991. It was rediscovered and named by Bonneh, Cooperman, and Sagi in 2001, who attributed its causes strictly to attentional mechanisms, perceiving the visual system as operating in a winner-takes-it-all manner.
A very similar phenomena is Troxler's fading
Troxler's fading
Troxler's fading or Troxler's effect is a phenomenon of visual perception. When one fixates a particular point, after about 20 seconds or so, a stimulus away from the fixation point, in peripheral vision, will fade away and disappear. The effect is enhanced if the stimulus is small, is of low...
(discovered by Troxler in 1804), in which an object away from where one is looking disappears and reappears irregularly without any necessity for a moving background.
Other similar phenomena in which salient stimuli disappear and reappear include binocular rivalry
Binocular rivalry
Binocular rivalry is a phenomenon of visual perception in which perception alternates between different images presented to each eye.When one image is presented to one eye and a very different image is presented to the other, instead of the two images being seen superimposed, one image is seen for...
(discovered by Porta in 1593),
monocular rivalry
Monocular rivalry
Monocular rivalry is a phenomenon of human visual perception that occurs when two different images are optically superimposed. During prolonged viewing, one image becomes clearer than the other for a few moments, then the other image becomes clearer than the first for a few moments. These...
(discovered by Breese in 1899),
and flash suppression
Flash suppression
Flash suppression is a phenomenon of visual perception in which an image presented to one eye is suppressed by a flash of another image presented to the other eye....
.
Causes
An ongoing debate regarding the causes of MIB is still present in today's research, however the purely attentional mechanism explanation has been rejected. Currently some researchers believe that the phenomenon occurs due to surface completion, whereas other suggest that it is driven by target disappearance.Implications
The phemomenon reveals that the brain uses mental models in order to process reality.Researchers speculate about whether this phenomenon appears in real life without us noticing it. Perhaps for some night drivers the red lights of the preceding cars could disappear temporally while he/she is paying attention to the moving lights coming from the other lane.
See also
- Troxler's fadingTroxler's fadingTroxler's fading or Troxler's effect is a phenomenon of visual perception. When one fixates a particular point, after about 20 seconds or so, a stimulus away from the fixation point, in peripheral vision, will fade away and disappear. The effect is enhanced if the stimulus is small, is of low...
- Visual perceptionVisual perceptionVisual perception is the ability to interpret information and surroundings from the effects of visible light reaching the eye. The resulting perception is also known as eyesight, sight, or vision...
- monocular rivalryMonocular rivalryMonocular rivalry is a phenomenon of human visual perception that occurs when two different images are optically superimposed. During prolonged viewing, one image becomes clearer than the other for a few moments, then the other image becomes clearer than the first for a few moments. These...
- binocular rivalryBinocular rivalryBinocular rivalry is a phenomenon of visual perception in which perception alternates between different images presented to each eye.When one image is presented to one eye and a very different image is presented to the other, instead of the two images being seen superimposed, one image is seen for...
- flash suppressionFlash suppressionFlash suppression is a phenomenon of visual perception in which an image presented to one eye is suppressed by a flash of another image presented to the other eye....