The Neuroscience of Yoricks's Ghost and Other Afterimages
This is the eighth article in the Mind Matters series on the neuroscience behind visual illusions.
The Neuroscience of Yoricks's Ghost and Other Afterimages
- Twinkle: A Dynamic Aftereffect That Helps to Diagnose Blindness So far, the afterimages in this slide show have been filled in with colors and brightness. But what happens when you adapt to a dynamic stimulus? The Twinkle effect shows that when a static object adapts to a dynamic surround, the static areas may appear as dynamic... IMAGE COURTESY OF JORGE OTERO-MILLAN, XOANA TRONCOSO, STEPHEN MACKNIK AND SUSANA MARTINEZ-CONDE
- Lilac Chaser Click here to view this illusion
Afterimages can form quickly and, as the adaptation deepens, so, too, does the intensity of the afterimage. Jeremy L. Hinton, of BAE Systems Technology Centre in Bristol, U.K., developed a compelling illusion that highlights these effects... IMAGE COURTESY OF JEREMY L. HINTON - Bovine Fly This illusion shows the interaction between color perception and afterimages. First, notice that the left image has a color imbalance to the right and left of the fly. Now, fixate your gaze on the fly in the right image for 10 to 30 seconds: this staring will selectively adapt the blue versus yellow color channels of your retina in your left versus right visual field... IMAGE COURTESY OF GIANNI SARCONE [http://www.archimedes-lab.org/]
