Abstract
Space is a fundamental concept in physics and psychology. We consider space around us to be 3-dimensional and Euclidean. Can the same be said about the representation of this world in our perceptual system? This 3- dimensional manifold1 of objects we are surrounded by have form and localization, in addition to characteristic qualities of color and brightness. (A brief definition of superscripted terms are given in the Notes (Section 16.4) at the end of the chapter). In a visual sensation, we are aware not only of a distribution of colors and brightness but also that certain of these qualities are combined into objects which have a definite geometric form and localization in a 3-dimensional space. This (the sensed space) is the visual space. The visual space is the final product of a long series of transformations/processes from the retina to the brain and it is coherent, self-organized, dynamic and complex (Indow 1991). Phenomenologically, it is articulated into individual objects, backgrounds and the “self”. The self is a percept that is due to visual and proprioceptive experiences. Other visual percepts arise from stimuli in physical space. Luneberg (1947, 1950), in his classic work on binocular vision, defined visual space as a space obtained by transforming, using a specific mapping, a physical space into a cyclopean egocentered space with orthogonal coordinates.
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Lakshminarayanan, V. (2002). Model of Visual Perceptual Space. In: Hung, G.K., Ciuffreda, K.J. (eds) Models of the Visual System. Topics in Biomedical Engineering International Book Series. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-5865-8_16
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