Theoretical Models of the Motion Aftereffect

other directions. In the spirit of Brindley (1970), we should first confirm the plausibility of these hypotheses by correlating properties of neural events with corresponding properties of perceptual phenomena. This is a straightforward task in the case of motion perception and aftereffects. Data from direct cell recordings show that the middle temporal area (MT ) in primates is particularly rich in motion-sensitive cells (see chapter 6). Human brain imaging studies show high activity in a corresponding region of cortexthe occipitotem~oral parietal junctionin the presence of M A Es (T ootell et al., 1995), and closed head injuries in the same area of cortex lead to impaired motion perception ( Vaina et al., 1990). It is also not difficult to And more specific evidence supporting the involvement of cortical cells in the MAE. For example, classic M A Es are confined to the area of retina exposed to the adapting stimulus, a property that can be related to the restricted receptive field of cortical cells; the perceptual phenomenon is also usually short-lived, in agreement with data on changes in neural