Neural Basis for Stereoscopic Vision
Research Overview
With Hermann Wagner (Aachen University) and David Heeger (Stanford
University), I am working toward a neural model for the processing of
binocular disparity and 3d depth in visual cortex. Our goal is to explain
the binocular interaction of cells in the primary visual cortex from a
functional perspective, in terms of the computation and representation
of binocular disparity.
The current model involves linear neurons and energy neurons, interocular
position-shifts and/or phase-shifts, monocular and binocular normalization,
pooling in local spatial neighbourhoods, and pooling across orientation-
and scale-specific channels. The basic computational framework was derived
as a modified form of {\sl phase-correlation}.
This work reported a number of theoretical findings, including the fact
that conventional energy models are not disparity detectors (as they
regularly respond strongly to false matches), and some specific
predictions concerning how one might measure the source of disparity
selectivity in V1 neurons, and how one might construct disparity
detectors from their outputs.
I am continuing this work in collaboration with Wagner and his students,
with neurophysiological experiments on awake behaving owls underway
to test predictons of the model.
Related Publications
- Fleet, D.J. (1997) Binocular energy models and the encoding of
binocular disparity. Annual OSA Meeting, Long Beach,
(see Optics and Photonics News, vol. 8 supplement, p. 92)
- Fleet, D.J., Heeger, D.J. and Wagner, H. (1996)
Modeling binocular neurons in primary visual cortex.
Computational and Biological Mechanisms of Visual Coding,
M. Jenkin and L. Harris (eds.), Cambridge University Press, pp. 103-130.
(pdf)
- Fleet, D.J., Wagner, H. and Heeger, D.J. (1996)
Neural encoding of binocular disparity: Energy model, position shifts and
phase shifts. Vision Research, 36(12) 1839-1857
(abstract)
- Fleet, D.J. (1994) Disparity from local weighted phase-correlation.
IEEE International Conference on SMC, San Antonio, October, pp. 48-56
(pdf)
© IEEE
Return to David Fleet's home page.