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Abstract:
Walking reduces visual speed estimates of optic flow (Souman et al, 2010 Journal of Vision 10(11):14]. Simultaneously, visual background motion can influence the perceived speed of moving objects (Tynan and Sekular, 1975 Vision Research 25 1231–1238; Baker and Graf, 2010 Vision Research 50 193–201). These two effects have been attributed to different subtractive processes, which may help in segregating object motion from self-motion induced optic flow. Here, we investigate how both factors jointly contribute to the perceived visual speed of objects. Participants compared the speed of two central Gabor patches on a ground plane, presented in consecutive intervals, either while standing still or while walking on a treadmill. In half the trials, one of the Gabors was surrounded by a moving random dot pattern, the speed of which matched walking speed. Our results replicated previous findings. A moving surround as well as walking can independently induce a subtractive effect on the perceived speed of the moving center, with the effect size increasing with center speed. However, walking does not affect visual speed estimates of the center when a visual surround is present. These results suggest that the visual input dominates the segregation of object motion from background optic flow.
