Modeling Binocular and Motion Transparency Processing by Local Center-Surround Interactions

Binocular transparency is perceived if two surfaces are seen in the same spatial location, but in different depths. Similarly, motion transparency occurs if two surfaces move differently over the same spatial location. Most models of motion or stereo processing incorporate uniqueness assumptions to resolve ambiguities of disparity or motion estimates and, thus, can not represent multiple features at the same spatial location. Unlike these previous models, we suggest a model with local center-surround interaction that operates upon analogs of cell populations in velocity or disparity domain of the ventral second visual area (V2) and dorsal medial middle temporal area (MT) in primates, respectively. These modeled cell populations can encode motion and binocular transparency. Model simulations demonstrate the successful processing of scenes with opaque and transparent materials, not previously reported. Our results suggest that motion and stereo processing both employ local center-surround interactions to resolve noisy and ambiguous disparity or motion input from initial correlations