Detection of constrast-defined shape.

We assessed the accuracy of contrast-defined shape detection of stimuli of constant aspect ratio, namely, circular bandpass stimuli whose radii were sinusoidally varied about a mean radius. Performance for these contrast-defined shapes, which we show is determined by the global rather than the local attributes of the stimulus, is 2-8 times worse than that for their luminance-defined counterparts, suggesting separate processing limitations. By spatially and orientationally filtering the two-dimensional fractal-noise carriers of which these stimuli were composed, we determined whether there are specific rules concerning the spatial and orientational input to shape detectors from mechanisms sensitive to the carrier structure. The results suggest that second-order circularity detectors receive mixed input from spatial-frequency-tuned and orientationally tuned cells.