Form Constraints in Motion Integration, Segmentation and Selection

Conclusion

The present paper summarized some of the numerous studies that convege to support the idea that geometrical relationships between visual elements or “tokens”, as initially stated by the Gestaltists, play a fundamental role in the perceptual organisation of form and motion. Recent developments in neuroscience and the available anatomical and physiological evidence suggest that the neuronal circuity described in the primary visual cortex possesses some of the properties needed to process the geometrical characteristics of the retinal inputs. This is certainly not the whole story, however: many other aspects of form and motion, that are selectively processed in areas distributed along the dorsal and ventral pathways, may also play a role. In addition, attention and prior knowledge could modulate perceptual grouping, although the present experiments failed to demonstrate such influence. Finally, the fact that motion can by itself provide sufficient information to segregate and recognise the form of objects indicates that interactions between form and motion are bi-directional. Future studies will with no doubt shed light on the intricate relationships between the processing of motion and form.