A Model of Early Visual Processing

We propose a model for early visual processing in primates. The model consists of a population of linear spatial filters which interact through nonlinear excitatory and inhibitory pooling. Statistical estimation theory is then used to derive human psychophysical thresholds from the responses of the entire population of units. The model is able to reproduce human thresholds for contrast and orientation discrimination tasks, and to predict contrast thresholds in the presence of masks of varying orientation and spatial frequency.