Neural Dynamics of Motion Segmentation and Grouping

A neural network model of motion segmentation by visual cortex is described. Themodel clarifies how preprocessing of motion signals by a Motion Oriented Contrast Filter (MOC Filter) is joined to long-range cooperative motionmechanisms in a motion Cooperative Competitive Loop (CC Loop) to control phenomena such as as induced motion, motion capture, andmotion aftereffects. The total model system is a motion Boundary Contour System (BCS) that is computed in parallel with a static BCS before both systems cooperate to generate a boundary representation for three dimensional visual form perception. The present investigations clarify howthe static BCS can be modified for use in motion segmentation problems, notablyfor analyzing how ambiguous local movements (the aperture problem) on a complex moving shape are suppressed and actively reorganized intoa coherent global motion signal. 1 INTRODUCTION: WHY ARE STATIC AND MOTION BOUNDARY CONTOUR SYSTEMS NEEDED? Some regions, notably MT, of visual cortex are specialized for motion processing.