Damon Clark (Associate Professor Molecular, Cellular & Developmental Biology) research in the news

In this stationary image, viewers should see the circles rotating in different directions. The effect is particularly pronounced when the viewer’s eyes move or blink. (Illusion credit to A. Kitaoka; illustrated by R. Tanaka)
August 25, 2020

Optical illusions explained in a fly’s eyes

Why people perceive motion in some static images has mystified not only those who view these optical illusions but neuroscientists who have tried to explain the phenomenon. Now Yale neuroscientists have found some answers in the eyes of flies, they report Aug. 24 in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

It turns out that flies are fooled by optical illusions as easily as humans.

“It was exciting to find that flies perceive motion in static images the same way we do,” said Damon Clark, associate professor of molecular, cellular and developmental biology and of physics and of neuroscience at Yale.

Published in Yale News, August 24, 2020.

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