Adaptive mechanisms in visual motion processing and a possible link to evolution

Introduction: In daily life, people are exposed to a range of static and moving visual images, e.g. if a pedestrian aims to cross a road, s/he needs to be able to separate between static and moving objects. S/he also needs to estimate the speed of an approaching car. It is particularly important that people are able to separate their own head movements from movements in their environment. The vestibulo-ocular reflex stabilizes retinal images during head movements and suppresses oscillopsia when people move quickly (e.g. while running). In patients with bilateral vestibular failure (BVF), the function of the vest…