Appearance of cone-resolved retinal stimulation and the compression of visual information

• Applicant: Dr. Wolf Harmening
• Subject Area: Biological Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience ; Ophthalmology
• Term: since 2025
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 548538462

The project proposal APPEAR aims to unravel the intricate mechanisms governing visual appearance of spatial attributes and information compression within the human visual system. Bringing together the complementary expertise of two research labs, this collaborative project merges cutting-edge high-resolution optical stimulation techniques with innovative psychophysical tools. The project is structured around three overarching aims, each contributing unique insights to our understanding of how the human visual systems constructs perception from the stream of visual signals emerging at the retina. First, advanced methodologies for quantifying visual appearance will be developed. The Lille lab will spearhead the effort to efficiently capture visual appearance using adaptive optics scanning laser ophthalmoscopy (AOSLO), identifying optimal stimulus sets and appearance capture methods. Concurrently, the Bonn lab will refine AOSLO micro-stimulation techniques to precisely characterize cone activation patterns during foveal stimulation and the incessant motion of the eye. Second, we will target the appearance of spatial stimuli at the resolution limit of the visual system. The project seeks to elucidate the intricate relationship between stimuli and appearance, employing both micro and macro experiments. By utilizing meaningless stimuli, the study aims to minimize the influence of prior knowledge and top-down modulation, shedding light on the fundamental transformation from the retinal stimulus to the visual percept. Third, to acknowledge the complexities of the natural visual environment, we aim at understanding information compression and redundancy masking (RM) phenomena. We will investigate the mechanisms behind RM, a phenomenon that compresses visual information, with experiments utilizing EEG, AOSLO, and virtual reality (VR) environments.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: France
• Partner Organisation: Agence Nationale de la Recherche / The French National Research Agency
• Cooperation Partner: Privatdozent Dr. Bilge Sayim, Ph.D.