英文摘要： 

Angle perception is an important middle-level visual process, combining line features to generate an integrated shape percept. It has been long debated whether the angle is a holistic feature or a representation of line combination. Here, we proposed a new computational model, demonstrating that the human visual system estimated the size of an angle using an orthogonal internal reference frame (IRF). The IRF model fits well with the behavioral data that neither Structuralism nor Gestalt theory could explain. Further analysis results show that the IRF is aligned with the prior knowledge of angle distribution in the natural environment. By using virtual reality technology to dissociate external cues, we found that the IRF for angle perception primarily relied on the egocentric cues but were slightly modulated by the visual contextual and gravitational cues. The study provides a new computational framework for angle discrimination, resolving a long-standing debate on angle perception.

Biography

Dr. Kuai is Head and Principal Investigator of Visual Cognition and Virtual Reality Application Lab, The School of Psychology and Cognitive Science at the East China Normal University. He received his bachelor degree of science from East China Normal University in 2004 and received his Ph.D. from the Chinese Academy of Science in 2009. He received postdoctoral training at School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, the United Kingdom from 2009 to 2012. From 2012 to 2015, Dr. Kuai worked for Philips Research as a Research Scientist. He joined East China Normal University as a faculty member in 2015. His research focuses on the neural mechanism of visual integration in 2D and 3D space utilizing various techniques including virtual reality, fMRI, EEG, and TMS