Perception of visual motion with modulated velocity: effects of viewing distance and aperture size.

Subjects observed a random dot pattern that moved horizontally with modulated velocity within an invisible aperture. The velocity contrast, (V2-V1)/V1, was 2/3. Two different percepts occurred while observing this stimulus. At lower modulation frequencies, between 2 and 12 Hz, velocity changes were clearly seen; this percept is called "motion irregularity". At frequencies higher than 20 Hz velocity changes were no longer visible; the moving pattern appeared to be divided into stationary columns of different luminance. We call this percept "pattern irregularity". The critical frequency for detection of motion irregularity was independent of viewing distance; it was an inverted U-shaped function of the linear rather than the angular mean velocity of the pattern. At higher mean velocities the critical frequency increased with increasing aperture size; at lower mean velocities it was not affected by the size of the aperture. It is shown that detection performance is a function of the relative velocity of the pattern, i.e. of the ratio between the mean velocity in deg/sec and the aperture size in deg. Pattern irregularity could be detected at modulation frequencies even above 100 Hz. The critical frequency increased with increasing velocity and with decreasing viewing distance. It is suggested that detection of motion irregularity is determined by two distinct processes that are based on spatial analysis of motion at low relative velocities and temporal analysis at high relative velocities; both processes provide constancy of detection performance regardless of viewing distance. On the other hand, pattern irregularity seems to be detected on the basis of an analysis of the retinal luminance distribution at high modulation frequencies.