Structural information processing in peripheral vision.

Structural visual information processing was investigated in peripheral vision. Perceptual completion, as observed at the blind spot, occurred across a vertical blank stripe in a test pattern, presented in the peripheral visual field. That is, a shape, organized by structural processing, was perceived under critical visual conditions when it was presented in peripheral vision. The results indicate that structural processing, as indicated by perceptual completion, occurs in the peripheral visual information handling process. The results suggest that structural processing of shape information is built into the peripheral visual system and reduces the information load on the higher visual processes under conditions in which visual information is not adequate.