Losing sight of the bigger picture: peripheral field loss compresses representations of space

Vision Res. 2007 Sep;47(19):2506-20. doi: 10.1016/j.visres.2007.06.012. Epub 2007 Aug 10.

Abstract

Three experiments examine how the peripheral visual field (PVF) mediates the development of spatial representations. In Experiment 1 participants learned and were tested on statue locations in a virtual environment while their field-of-view (FOV) was restricted to 40 degrees , 20 degrees , 10 degrees , or 0 degrees (diam). As FOV decreased, overall placement errors, estimated distances, and angular offsets increased. Experiment 2 showed large compressions but no effect of FOV for perceptual estimates of statue locations. Experiment 3 showed an association between FOV size and proprioception influence. These results suggest the PVF provides important global spatial information used in the development of spatial representations.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Distance Perception / physiology
  • Female
  • Fixation, Ocular / physiology
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Photic Stimulation / methods
  • Proprioception / physiology
  • Psychomotor Performance
  • Space Perception / physiology*
  • Visual Fields / physiology*
  • Walking / physiology