Stabilized images: Functional relationships among populations of orientation-specific mechanisms in the human visual system

Two experiments are presented in which fading rates of stabilized line stimuli were measured following prolonged adaptation to nonstabilized grating patterns in various orientations. Results indicated that some orientation-specific effects are sensitive to small variations of orientation around an optimal orientation, as well as to stimuli rotated 90 deg from the optimal orientation. These data were interpreted in terms of interactions among populations of orientation-specific mechanisms in the human visual system.