Object motion sensitivity

Motion is ubiquitous in vision, but there is a fundamental dichotomy in its source with important behavioral implications. Some motion on the retina is caused by self-motion of the eyes, head, or body, and other motion on the retina represents the actual movement of objects in the visual scene. Distinguishing between self and object motion is required for visually guided navigation through the world, recognizing the movements of predators and prey, and segmentation of objects. This chapter explores the retinal basis of a computation called object motion sensitivity that enables moving objects to be identified against a background of other retinal motion from both the world and ourselves.