Changes in perceived speed following adaptation to first-order and second-order motion

To investigate whether or not adaptation to second-order motion can cause changes in perceived speed, measurements of perceived speed were obtained for two varieties of motion: (i) contrast-modulated two-dimensional static noise (second-order motion); and (ii) luminance-modulated noise (first-order motion). The test stimulus (either first-order or second-order) was presented to one side of a central fixation spot and a comparison stimulus (always first-order) was simultaneously presented on the opposite side. The observer's task was to indicate which of the two motion stimuli appeared to drift faster. The perceived speed of the test stimulus was measured with and without prior adaptation to motion on one side of the fixation spot only (that of the test stimulus). The modulation depth of the adaptation stimulus was always half that of the test stimulus and all test patterns were equated for visibility. The pattern of results for second-order motion was similar to that for first-order motion. Typically, adaptation reduced perceived speed, particularly when the adaptation speed was faster than the test speed. However, when the adaptation speed was low relative to the test speed, increases in perceived speed were found. Cross-over adaptation effects between first-order and second-order motion were also observed. Robust velocity aftereffects were found for second-order motion when the noise was dynamic or was high-pass filtered, suggesting that first-order (luminance) artifacts were not responsible for the velocity aftereffects observed. We conclude that the perceived speeds of first-order and second-order motion appear to be encoded in human vision using similar computational principles (but not necessarily utilizing the same mechanism), since the same pattern of results was found for the two varieties of motion.