Peripheral targets attenuate miniature eye movements during fixation.

Fixating a small dot is a universal technique for stabilizing gaze in vision and eye movement research, and for clinical imaging of normal and diseased retinae. During fixation, microsaccades and drifts occur that presumably benefit vision, yet microsaccades compromise image stability and usurp task attention. Previous work suggested that microsaccades and smooth pursuit catch-up saccades are controlled by similar mechanisms. This, and other previous work showing fewer catch-up saccades during smooth pursuit of peripheral targets suggested that a peripheral target might similarly mitigate microsaccades. Here, human observers fixated one of three stimuli: a small central dot, the center of a peripheral, circular array of small dots, or a central/peripheral stimulus created by combining the two. The microsaccade rate was significantly lower with the peripheral array than with the dot. However, inserting the dot into the array increased the microsaccade rate to single-dot levels. Drift speed also decreased with the peripheral array, both with and without the central dot. Eye position variability was higher with the array than with the composite stimulus. The results suggest that analogous to the foveal pursuit, foveating a stationary target engages the saccadic system likely compromising retinal-image stability. In contrast, fixating a peripheral stimulus improves stability, thereby affording better retinal imaging and releasing attention for experimental tasks.

Depressive traits are associated with a reduced effect of choice on intentional binding.

A sense of agency (SoA) over wilful actions is thought to be dependent on the level of choice and the nature of the outcome. In a preregistered study, we manipulated choice and valence of outcome to assess the relationship between SoA across the depression and psychosis continuum. Participants (N = 151) completed a Libet Clock task, in which they had either a free or forced choice to press one of two buttons and received either a rewarding or punishing outcome. Participants also completed questionnaires on depressive and psychosis-like traits. Rewarding outcomes increased intentional binding. The evidence favoured no effect of choice on average, but this was influenced by inter-individual differences. Individuals reporting more depressive traits had less of a difference in intentional binding between free and forced choice conditions. We show that implicit SoA is sensitive to outcome valence and the effect of choice differs across the depression continuum.

A common mechanism modulates saccade timing during pursuit and fixation.

Smooth pursuit is punctuated by catch-up saccades, which are thought to automatically correct sensory errors in retinal position and velocity. Recent studies have shown that the timing of catch-up saccades is susceptible to cognitive modulation, as is the timing of fixational microsaccades. Are the timing of catchup and microsaccades thus modulated by the same mechanism? Here, we test directly whether pursuit catch-up saccades and fixational microsaccades exhibit the same temporal pattern of task-related bursts and subsidence. Observers pursued a linear array of 15 alphanumeric characters that translated across the screen and simultaneously performed a character identification task on it. At a fixed time, a cue briefly surrounded the central element to specify it as the pursuit target. After a random delay, a probe (E or 3) appeared briefly at a randomly selected character location, and observers identified it. For comparison, a fixation condition was also tested with trial parameters identical to the pursuit condition, except that the array remained stationary. We found that during both pursuit and fixation tasks, saccades paused after the cue and then rebounded as expected but also subsided in anticipation of the task. The time courses of the reactive pause, rebound, and anticipatory subsidence were similar, and idiosyncratic subject behavior was consistent across pursuit and fixation. The results provide evidence for a common mechanism of saccade control during pursuit and fixation, which is predictive as well as reactive and has an identifiable temporal signature in individual observers.NEW & NOTEWORTHY During natural scene viewing, voluntary saccades reorient the fovea to different locations for high-acuity viewing. Less is known about small "microsaccades" that also occur when fixating stationary objects and "catch-up saccades" that occur during smooth pursuit of moving objects. We provide evidence that microsaccade and catch-up saccade frequencies are generally modulated by the same mechanism. Furthermore, on a finer time scale the mechanism operates differently in different observers, suggesting that neural saccade generators are individually unique.

Choosing a foveal goal recruits the saccadic system during smooth pursuit.

Models of smooth pursuit eye movements stabilize an object's retinal image, yet pursuit is peppered with small, destabilizing "catch-up" saccades. Catch-up saccades might help follow a small, spot stimulus used in most pursuit experiments, since fewer of them occur with large stimuli. However, they can return when a large stimulus has a small central feature. It may be that a central feature on a large object automatically recruits the saccadic system. Alternatively, a cognitive choice is made that the feature is the pursuit goal, and the saccadic system is then recruited to pursue it. Observers pursued a 5-dot stimulus composed of a central dot surrounded by four peripheral dots arranged as a diamond. An attention task specified the pursuit goal as either the central element, or the diamond gestalt. Fewer catch-up saccades occurred with the Gestalt goal than with the central goal, although the additional saccades with the central goal neither enhanced nor impeded pursuit. Furthermore, removing the central element from the diamond goal further reduced catch-up saccade frequency, indicating that the central element automatically triggered some saccades. Higher saccade frequency was not simply due to narrowly focused attention, since attending a small peripheral diamond during pursuit elicited fewer saccades than attending the diamond positioned foveally. The results suggest some saccades are automatically elicited by a small central element, but when it is chosen as the pursuit goal the saccadic system is further recruited to pursue it. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Smooth-pursuit eye movements stabilize retinal image motion to prevent blur. Curiously, smooth pursuit is frequently supplemented by small catchup saccades that could reduce image clarity. Catchup saccades might only be needed to pursue small laboratory stimuli, as they are infrequent during large object pursuit. Yet large objects with central features revive them. Here, we show that voluntarily selecting a feature as the pursuit goal elicits saccades that do not help pursuit.

Illusory motion reveals velocity matching, not foveation, drives smooth pursuit of large objects.

When small objects move in a scene, we keep them foveated with smooth pursuit eye movements. Although large objects such as people and animals are common, it is nonetheless unknown how we pursue them since they cannot be foveated. It might be that the brain calculates an object's centroid, and then centers the eyes on it during pursuit as a foveation mechanism might. Alternatively, the brain merely matches the velocity by motion integration. We test these alternatives with an illusory motion stimulus that translates at a speed different from its retinal motion. The stimulus was a Gabor array that translated at a fixed velocity, with component Gabors that drifted with motion consistent or inconsistent with the translation. Velocity matching predicts different pursuit behaviors across drift conditions, while centroid matching predicts no difference. We also tested whether pursuit can segregate and ignore irrelevant local drifts when motion and centroid information are consistent by surrounding the Gabors with solid frames. Finally, observers judged the global translational speed of the Gabors to determine whether smooth pursuit and motion perception share mechanisms. We found that consistent Gabor motion enhanced pursuit gain while inconsistent, opposite motion diminished it, drawing the eyes away from the center of the stimulus and supporting a motion-based pursuit drive. Catch-up saccades tended to counter the position offset, directing the eyes opposite to the deviation caused by the pursuit gain change. Surrounding the Gabors with visible frames canceled both the gain increase and the compensatory saccades. Perceived speed was modulated analogous to pursuit gain. The results suggest that smooth pursuit of large stimuli depends on the magnitude of integrated retinal motion information, not its retinal location, and that the position system might be unnecessary for generating smooth velocity to large pursuit targets.

A Subconscious Interaction between Fixation and Anticipatory Pursuit.

Ocular smooth pursuit and fixation are typically viewed as separate systems, yet there is evidence that the brainstem fixation system inhibits pursuit. Here we present behavioral evidence that the fixation system modulates pursuit behavior outside of conscious awareness. Human observers (male and female) either pursued a small spot that translated across a screen, or fixated it as it remained stationary. As shown previously, pursuit trials potentiated the oculomotor system, producing anticipatory eye velocity on the next trial before the target moved that mimicked the stimulus-driven velocity. Randomly interleaving fixation trials reduced anticipatory pursuit, suggesting that a potentiated fixation system interacted with pursuit to suppress eye velocity in upcoming pursuit trials. The reduction was not due to passive decay of the potentiated pursuit signal because interleaving "blank" trials in which no target appeared did not reduce anticipatory pursuit. Interspersed short fixation trials reduced anticipation on long pursuit trials, suggesting that fixation potentiation was stronger than pursuit potentiation. Furthermore, adding more pursuit trials to a block did not restore anticipatory pursuit, suggesting that fixation potentiation was not overridden by certainty of an imminent pursuit trial but rather was immune to conscious intervention. To directly test whether cognition can override fixation suppression, we alternated pursuit and fixation trials to perfectly specify trial identity. Still, anticipatory pursuit did not rise above that observed with an equal number of random fixation trials. The results suggest that potentiated fixation circuitry interacts with pursuit circuitry at a subconscious level to inhibit pursuit.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT When an object moves, we view it with smooth pursuit eye movements. When an object is stationary, we view it with fixational eye movements. Pursuit and fixation are historically regarded as controlled by different neural circuitry, and alternating between invoking them is thought to be guided by a conscious decision. However, our results show that pursuit is actively suppressed by prior fixation of a stationary object. This suppression is involuntary, and cannot be avoided even if observers are certain that the object will move. The results suggest that the neural fixation circuitry is potentiated by engaging stationary objects, and interacts with pursuit outside of conscious awareness.

First On-Sky Fringes with an Up-Conversion Interferometer Tested on a Telescope Array.

The Astronomical Light Optical Hybrid Analysis project investigates the combined use of a telescope array interferometer and nonlinear optics to propose a new generation of instruments dedicated to high-resolution imaging for infrared astronomy. The nonlinear process of optical frequency conversion transfers the astronomical light to a shorter wavelength domain. Here, we report on the first fringes obtained on the sky with the prototype operated at 1.55 µm in the astronomical H band and implemented on the Center for High Angular Resolution Astronomy telescope array. This seminal result allows us to foresee a future extension to the challenging midinfrared spectral domain.

A foveal target increases catch-up saccade frequency during smooth pursuit.

Images that move rapidly across the retina of the human eye blur because the retina has sluggish temporal dynamics. Voluntary smooth pursuit eye movements are modeled as matching object velocity to minimize retinal motion and prevent retinal blurring. However, "catch-up" saccades that are ubiquitous during pursuit interrupt it and disrupt clear vision. But catch-up saccades may not be a common feature of ocular pursuit, because their existence has been documented with a small moving spot, the classic pursuit stimulus, which is a weak motion stimulus that may poorly emulate larger pursuit objects. We found that spot pursuit does not generalize to that of larger objects. Observers pursued a spot or a larger virtual object with or without a superimposed spot target. Single-spot targets produced lower pursuit acceleration than larger objects. Critically, more saccadic intrusions occurred when stimuli had a central dot, even when position and velocity errors were equated, suggesting that catch-up saccades result from pursuing a single, small object or a feature on a large one. To determine what differentiates a large object from a small one, we progressively shrank the featureless virtual object and found that catch-up saccade frequency was highest when it fit in the fovea. The results suggest that pursuit of a small target or an object feature recruits a saccade mechanism that does not compensate for a weak motion signal; rather, the target compels foveation. Furthermore, catch-up saccades are likely generated by neural circuitry typically used to foveate small objects or features.

Allocation of attention during pursuit of large objects is no different than during fixation.

Attention allocation during pursuit of a spot is usually characterized as asymmetric with more attention placed ahead of the target than behind it. However, attention is symmetrically allocated across larger pursuit stimuli. An unresolved issue is how tightly attention is constrained on large stimuli during pursuit. Although some work shows it is tightly locked to the fovea, other work shows it is allocated flexibly. To investigate this, we had observers perform a character identification task on large pursuit stimuli composed of arrays of five, nine, or 15 characters spaced between 0.6° and 4.0° apart. Initially, the characters were identical, but at a random time, they all changed briefly, rendering one of them unique. Observers identified the unique character. Consistent with previous literature, attention appeared narrow and symmetric around the pursuit target for tightly spaced (0.6°) characters. Increasing spacing dramatically expanded the attention scope, presumably by mitigating crowding. However, when we controlled for crowding, performance was limited by set size, suffering more for eccentric targets. Interestingly, the same limitations on attention allocation were observed with stationary and pursued stimuli-evidence that attention operates similarly during fixation and pursuit of a stimulus that extends into the periphery. The results suggest that attention is flexibly allocated during pursuit, but performance is limited by crowding and set size. In addition, performing the identification task did not hurt pursuit performance, further evidence that pursuit of large stimuli is relatively inattentive.

Different time scales of motion integration for anticipatory smooth pursuit and perceptual adaptation.

When repeatedly exposed to moving stimuli, the oculomotor system elicits anticipatory smooth pursuit (ASP) eye movements, even before the stimulus moves. ASP is affected oppositely to perceptual speed judgments of repetitive moving stimuli: After a sequence of fast stimuli, ASP velocity increases, whereas perceived speed decreases. These two effects--perceptual adaptation and oculomotor priming--could result from adapting a single common internal speed representation that is used for perceptual comparisons and for generating ASP. Here we test this hypothesis by assessing the temporal dependence of both effects on stimulus history. Observers performed speed discriminations on moving random dot stimuli, either while pursuing the movement or maintaining steady fixation. In both cases, responses showed perceptual adaptation: Stimuli preceded by fast speeds were perceived as slower, and vice versa. To evaluate oculomotor priming, we analyzed ASP velocity as a function of average stimulus speed in preceding trials and found strong positive dependencies. Interestingly, maximal priming occurred over short stimulus histories (∼two trials), whereas adaptation was maximal over longer histories (∼15 trials). The temporal dissociation of adaptation and priming suggests different underlying mechanisms. It may be that perceptual adaptation integrates over a relatively long period to robustly calibrate the operating range of the motion system, thereby avoiding interference from transient changes in stimulus speed. On the other hand, the oculomotor system may rapidly prime anticipatory velocity to efficiently match it to that of the pursuit target.

Motion integration for ocular pursuit does not hinder perceptual segregation of moving objects.

When confronted with a complex moving stimulus, the brain can integrate local element velocities to obtain a single motion signal, or segregate the elements to maintain awareness of their identities. The integrated motion signal can drive smooth-pursuit eye movements (Heinen and Watamaniuk, 1998), whereas the segregated signal guides attentive tracking of individual elements in multiple-object tracking tasks (MOT; Pylyshyn and Storm, 1988). It is evident that these processes can occur simultaneously, because we can effortlessly pursue ambulating creatures while inspecting disjoint moving features, such as arms and legs, but the underlying mechanism is unknown. Here, we provide evidence that separate neural circuits perform the mathematically opposed operations of integration and segregation, by demonstrating with a dual-task paradigm that the two processes do not share attentional resources. Human observers attentively tracked a subset of target elements composing a small MOT stimulus, while pursuing it ocularly as it translated across a computer display. Integration of the multidot stimulus yielded optimal pursuit. Importantly, performing MOT while pursuing the stimulus did not degrade performance on either task compared with when each was performed alone, indicating that they did not share attention. A control experiment showed that pursuit was not driven by integration of only the nontargets, leaving the MOT targets free for segregation. Nor was a predictive strategy used to pursue the stimulus, because sudden changes in its global velocity were accurately followed. The results suggest that separate neural mechanisms can simultaneously segregate and integrate the same motion signals.

Shared attention for smooth pursuit and saccades.

Identification of brief luminance decrements on parafoveal stimuli presented during smooth pursuit improves when a spot pursuit target is surrounded by a larger random dot cinematogram (RDC) that moves with it (Heinen, Jin, & Watamaniuk, 2011). This was hypothesized to occur because the RDC provided an alternative, less attention-demanding pursuit drive, and therefore released attentional resources for visual perception tasks that are shared with those used to pursue the spot. Here, we used the RDC as a tool to probe whether spot pursuit also shares attentional resources with the saccadic system. To this end, we set out to determine if the RDC could release attention from pursuit of the spot to perform a saccade task. Observers made a saccade to one of four parafoveal targets that moved with the spot pursuit stimulus. The targets either moved alone or were surrounded by an RDC (100% coherence). Saccade latency decreased with the RDC, suggesting that the RDC released attention needed to pursue the spot, which was then used for the saccade task. Additional evidence that attention was released by the RDC was obtained in an experiment in which attention was anchored to the fovea by requiring observers to detect a brief color change applied 130 ms before the saccade target appeared. This manipulation eliminated the RDC advantage. The results imply that attentional resources used by the pursuit and saccadic eye movement control systems are shared.

Spectral CT of carotid atherosclerotic plaque: comparison with histology.

OBJECTIVE: To distinguish components of vulnerable atherosclerotic plaque by imaging their energy response using spectral CT and comparing images with histology. METHODS: After spectroscopic calibration using phantoms of plaque surrogates, excised human carotid atherosclerotic plaques were imaged using MARS CT using a photon-processing detector with a silicon sensor layer and microfocus X-ray tube (50 kVp, 0.5 mA) at 38-µm voxel size. The plaques were imaged, sectioned and re-imaged using four threshold energies: 10, 16, 22 and 28 keV; then sequentially stained with modified Von Kossa, Perl's Prussian blue and Oil-Red O, and photographed. Relative Hounsfield units across the energies were entered into a linear algebraic material decomposition model to identify the unknown plaque components. RESULTS: Lipid, calcium, iron and water-like components of plaque have distinguishable energy responses to X-ray, visible on spectral CT images. CT images of the plaque surface correlated very well with histological photographs. Calcium deposits (>1,000 µm) in plaque are larger than iron deposits (<100 µm), but could not be distinguished from each other within the same voxel using the energy range available. CONCLUSIONS: Spectral CT displays energy information in image form at high spatial resolution, enhancing the intrinsic contrast of lipid, calcium and iron within atheroma. KEY POINTS: Spectral computed tomography offers new insights into tissue characterisation. Components of vulnerable atherosclerotic plaque are spectrally distinct with intrinsic contrast. Spectral CT of excised atherosclerotic plaques can display iron, calcium and lipid. Calcium deposits are larger than iron deposits in atheroma. Spectral CT may help in the non-invasive detection of vulnerable plaques.

Perceived global flow direction reveals local vector weighting by luminance.

Global flow occurs when random dots, each selecting their direction of motion randomly each frame from a distribution of directions spanning up to 180°, appear to move as a whole in the mean direction of the components. This percept arises because the visual system integrates the many independent local motion signals over space and time. Through a series of direction discrimination experiments with random-dot cinematograms (RDCs), we show that varying the luminance of dots over a suprathreshold range profoundly affects perceived direction; the brightest dots appear to be weighted more and dimmer dots weighted less when determining perceived global direction. This effect is not observable if all dots in the display have the same luminance but only when the display contains dots with different luminance values. The results are consistent with energy models of motion detectors whose responses are contrast dependent. A Monte Carlo simulation of global direction discrimination employing a 12-mechanism line-element model that weighted the local motion vectors by the normalized squared contrast of the component dots (a proxy for contrast energy) captured well the features of the experimental data.

Flexibility of foveal attention during ocular pursuit.

Smooth pursuit of natural objects requires flexible allocation of attention to inspect features. However, it has been reported that attention is focused at the fovea during pursuit. We ask here if foveal attention is obligatory during pursuit, or if it can be disengaged. Observers tracked a stimulus composed of a central dot surrounded by four others and identified one of the dots when it dimmed. Extinguishing the center dot before the dimming improved task performance, suggesting that attention was released from it. To determine if the center dot automatically usurped attention, we provided the pursuit system with an alternative sensory signal by adding peripheral motion that moved with the stimulus. This also improved identification performance, evidence that a central target does not necessarily require attention during pursuit. Identification performance at the central dot also improved, suggesting that the spatial extent of the background did not attract attention to the periphery; instead, peripheral motion freed pursuit attention from the central dot, affording better identification performance. The results show that attention can be flexibly allocated during pursuit and imply that attention resources for pursuit of small and large objects come from different sources.

Visual search performance with 3-D auditory cues: effects of motion, target location, and practice.

OBJECTIVES: We evaluate visual search performance in both static (nonmoving) and dynamic (moving) search environments with and without spatial (3-D) auditory cues to target location. Additionally, the effects of target trajectory, target location, and practice are assessed. BACKGROUND: Previous research on aurally aided visual search has shown a significant reduction in response times when 3-D auditory cues are displayed, relative to unaided search. However, the vast majority of this research has examined only searches for static targets in static visual environments. The present experiment was conducted to examine the effect of dynamic stimuli upon aurally aided visual search performance. METHOD: The 8 participants conducted repeated searches for a single visual target hidden among 15 distracting stimuli. The four main conditions of the experiment consisted of the four possible combinations of 3-D auditory cues (present or absent) and search environment (static or dynamic). RESULTS: The auditory cues were comparably effective at reducing search times in dynamic environments (-25%) as in static environments (-22%). Audio cues helped all participants. The cues were most beneficial when the target appeared at large eccentricities and on the horizontal plane. After a brief initial exposure to 3-D audio, no training or practice effects with 3-D audio were found. CONCLUSION: We conclude that 3-D audio is as beneficial in environments comprising moving stimuli as in those comprising static stimuli. APPLICATION: Operators in dynamic environments, such as aircraft cockpits, ground vehicles, and command-and-control centers, could benefit greatly from 3-D auditory technology when searching their environments for visual targets or other time-critical information.

Spectroscopic (multi-energy) CT distinguishes iodine and barium contrast material in MICE.

OBJECTIVE: Spectral CT differs from dual-energy CT by using a conventional X-ray tube and a photon-counting detector. We wished to produce 3D spectroscopic images of mice that distinguished calcium, iodine and barium. METHODS: We developed a desktop spectral CT, dubbed MARS, based around the Medipix2 photon-counting energy-discriminating detector. The single conventional X-ray tube operated at constant voltage (75 kVp) and constant current (150 microA). We anaesthetised with ketamine six black mice (C57BL/6). We introduced iodinated contrast material and barium sulphate into the vascular system, alimentary tract and respiratory tract as we euthanised them. The mice were preserved in resin and imaged at four detector energy levels from 12 keV to 42 keV to include the K-edges of iodine (33.0 keV) and barium (37.4 keV). Principal component analysis was applied to reconstructed images to identify components with independent energy response, then displayed in 2D and 3D. RESULTS: Iodinated and barium contrast material was spectrally distinct from soft tissue and bone in all six mice. Calcium, iodine and barium were displayed as separate channels on 3D colour images at <55 microm isotropic voxels. CONCLUSION: Spectral CT distinguishes contrast agents with K-edges only 4 keV apart. Multi-contrast imaging and molecular CT are potential future applications.

Storage of an oculomotor motion aftereffect.

Adaptation to motion produces a motion aftereffect (MAE), where illusory, oppositely-directed motion is perceived when viewing a stationary image. A common hypothesis for motion adaptation is that it reflects an imbalance of activity caused by neuronal fatigue. However, the perceptual MAE exhibits storage, in that the MAE appears even after a prolonged period of darkness is interposed between the adapting stimulus and the test, suggesting that fatigue cannot explain the perceptual MAE. We asked whether neural fatigue was a viable explanation for the oculomotor MAE (OMAE) by testing if the OMAE exhibits storage. Human observers were adapted with moving, random-dot cinematograms. Following adaptation, they generated an oculomotor MAE (OMAE), with both pursuit and saccadic components. The OMAE occurred in the presence of a visual test stimulus, but not in the dark. When the test stimulus was introduced after the dark period, the OMAE reappeared, analogous to perceptual MAE storage. The results suggest that fatigue cannot explain the OMAE, and that visual stimulation is necessary to elicit it. We propose a model in which adaptation recalibrates the motion-processing network by adjusting the weights of the inputs to neurons in the middle-temporal (MT) area.

The predictive power of trajectory motion.

When the central region of an obliquely oriented line is bisected by a wide, vertical opaque occluder, observers misperceive the two line segments as being misaligned (the Poggendorff illusion). If the oblique line segment is replaced with a spot moving on an oblique trajectory, little if any misalignment is perceived. This accurate alignment of oblique segments depends upon the consistent motion of the dot along the oblique trajectory and not other temporal or spatial characteristics of the motion-defined segments since random plotting of the dot along each oblique segment resulted in robust misalignment. The nullification of the Poggendorff illusion was also obtained if only one of the segments was defined by a moving spot so long as the spot moved in a direction that 'pointed' to the static segment. Moreover, if the occluder boundary was defined by rows of vertically moving dots, was filled with vertically moving dots or was a real (cardboard) occluder, the motion-defined oblique segments were still perceived to be aligned with little error, consistent with the unimpaired detection of a trajectory dot in noise interrupted by similar occluders [Watamaniuk, S. N. J. & McKee, S. P. (1995). 'Seeing' motion behind occluders. Nature, 377, 729-730]. The results are interpreted as evidence that trajectory motion produces a cascade of activity in appropriately aligned motion detectors, in the direction of motion, that continues after the moving object has been occluded to produce a prediction of where the moving object should reappear.

Segregation from direction differences in dynamic random-dot stimuli.

Previous research has shown that a field of random dots in which each dot alternates between a slow and a fast speed, can give rise to the percept of two superimposed sheets of moving dots when the alternations are out of phase or asynchronous with each other [Vis. Res. 35 (1995) 1691]. Under those conditions, observers can discriminate changes in the slow speed independent of changes in the fast speed. The present study investigated whether such motion-based segregation could result when dots alternated between two different directions. Three observers viewed a variety of displays containing two directions of motion, one upward and one oblique, with the task of discriminating small trial-to-trial changes in the direction of the upward component. The oblique direction component also changed direction from trial-to-trial. The field of dots either alternated synchronously (all dots moved in the same direction and switched to the other direction simultaneously) or asynchronously. Results showed that when the dots alternated synchronously between the directions, observers' direction discrimination performance was generally poor. However, when dots switched directions asynchronously, direction discrimination was only slightly elevated in comparison to that produced by a field of dots all moving in a single direction. Additional experiments demonstrated that this performance was not due to judging the global direction of the random-dot display. Thus the visual system had to segregate the stimulus into its component directions before integrating to arrive at the motion signal to be discriminated. It is concluded that for displays comprising elements that alternate between different directions, local direction signals can be used by the human visual system to effectively segregate a display so long as both direction signals are present simultaneously.