The Muller-Lyer Illusion in Ant Foraging

作者:Sakiyama Tomoko; Gunji Yukio Pegio*
来源:PLos One, 2013, 8(12): e81714.
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0081714

摘要

The Muller-Lyer illusion is a classical geometric illusion in which the apparent (perceived) length of a line depends on whether the line terminates in an arrow tail or arrowhead. This effect may be caused by economic compensation for the gap between the physical stimulus and visual fields. Here, we show that the Muller-Lyer illusion can also be produced by the foraging patterns of garden ants (Lasius niger) and that the pattern obtained can be explained by a simple, asynchronously updated foraging ant model. Our results suggest that the geometric illusion may be a byproduct of the foraging process, in which local interactions underlying efficient exploitation can also give rise to global exploration, and that visual information processing in human could implement similar modulation between local efficient processing and widespread computation.

  • 出版日期2013-12-11