System-level Computations Underlie Visual Field Heterogeneity in Human Vision
Experiment: Psychophysics + Modeling
Collaborators: Shutian Xue, Antoine Barbot, PhD, Marisa Carrasco, PhD
📍This project aim to uncover how system-level computational mechanisms contribute to differences in visual performance across the visual field, beyond what can be explained by anatomical factors like retinal and cortical structure.
Description
This project investigates how system-level computations contribute to variations in visual performance across the visual field. Using the equivalent noise method and the Perceptual Template Model, we mapped contrast sensitivity and estimated gain, internal noise, and nonlinearity across eccentricities and polar angles. We found that eccentricity effects arise from both decreased gain and increased internal noise, while polar angle asymmetries are driven solely by differences in gain. These results highlight that visual field heterogeneity is not only shaped by retinal and cortical architecture but also by computational mechanisms of the visual system.
Project Paper
Conference Presentations
📰2025SfN Poster