| Summary: | This thesis is concerned with the investigation of the nature of adaptation and aftereffects in the human visual system. We extend previous research first by specifically investigating the temporal aspect of these processes. The technique we develop and present here offers a method of measuring the temporal dynamics of visual aftereffects which captures how the aftereffect is varying in both strength and duration. In the first experimental chapter we present data following the application of this technique to the Depth After Effect. We then go on to apply this technique to the investigation of the Motion After Effect and in particular look at the temporal dynamics of this effect using different stimuli during adaptation. The results of this form the second and third experimental chapter of this thesis. Having addressed aspects of the nature of visual aftereffects to both motion and disparity, we then present an experiment looking at adaptation to both motion and disparity, and the effect this has on an ambiguous stimuli, that of a transparent surface. We found that observers' biases for which direction of motion moved in front was influenced in a manner mostly consistent with a depth-contingent motion aftereffect following adaptation. These results emphasize the critical role of neural structures sensitive to both motion and binocular disparity in the perception of motion transparency. In summary, this thesis addresses the nature of visual aftereffects and also presents a method of measuring how they vary with time.
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