Effects of Movements upon the Appearance and Duration of a Prolonged Visual Afterimage: 1. Changes Arising from the Movement of a Portion of the Body Incorporated in the Afterimaged Scene

Abstract

Gregory et al. (1959) reported qualitative changes in the appearance of a prolonged visual afterimage (viewed in total darkness) which arise from body movements. This paper (part 1 of a two part series) reports an experiment in which 12 subjects were required to observe an afterimage (in total darkness) of no, one, or both of their hands against a simple background. Movement of the hands during the observation period gave rise to qualitative changes in the appearance, and quantitative changes in the duration, of the afterimage. The former were confined to the portion of the afterimage corresponding to the moved hand, and the duration of the afterimage increased with the more complex changes in the scene. As kinaesthetic and proprioceptive information that conflicts with the visual input affects both the duration and the appearance of the afterimage, the data offer some support for the hypothesis that the duration and appearance of a visual afterimage may not be solely dependent upon retinal processes.