Effects of spatial arrangement of visual stimulus on inverted self-motion perception induced by the foreground motion: examination of OKN-suppression hypothesis.

Our previous study revealed that a slowly moving foreground, which is presented in front of a fast-moving orthogonal background, can induce self-motion perception in the same direction as its motion (inverted vection; Vis. Res. 40 (2000) 2915). The present study shows that inverted vection becomes stronger in the conditions where the foreground stimulus is presented in the central area of observer's visual field and the observer's eyes converge on the same depth plane. These stimulus conditions are consistent with the one where the foreground can induce observer's optokinetic nystagmus more effectively, and therefore, the results of this study support our hypothesis in that mis-registered eye-movement information caused by the suppression of optokinetic nystagmus induced by the foreground motion is a critical factor in perceiving inverted vection.