Peripheral Drift Illusions

In peripheral drift illusions, the image or pattern appears to move or drift, even though it is actually stationary. This movement is caused by the brain’s attempt to interpret the image or pattern, which is often complex or ambiguous. The movement can be in any direction, such as horizontally, vertically, or diagonally.

Peripheral drift illusions are interesting to study because they can reveal how the visual system processes information and can help us understand the underlying neural mechanisms of visual perception.


Peripheral drift illusion jelly bean
From Wikimedia Commons


Table of Contents


How do Peripheral Drift Illusions work?

Peripheral drift illusions refer to a group of optical illusions where an object or pattern appears to be moving even though it is stationary. These illusions are often characterized by a perceived movement in the peripheral vision, hence the name.

Peripheral drift illusions work by exploiting the way the visual system processes information from the peripheral vision. Our eyes have a higher density of receptors, called rods, in the peripheral vision than in the central vision, and these receptors are more sensitive to movement. The peripheral vision also has a lower resolution and is less sensitive to details than the central vision.

Because of these characteristics, the visual system tends to perceive movement in the peripheral vision more easily than in the central vision. In a peripheral drift illusion, the visual elements of the illusion, such as lines or angles, are arranged in such a way that they create the illusion of movement in the peripheral vision.

Another mechanism that can cause peripheral drift illusions is the way that the brain interprets visual information. The brain uses context and prior experience to make sense of visual information, and this can lead to perceptual errors. For example, in the café wall illusion, the brain interprets the angled lines as the edges of a 3D object, which creates the illusion of movement.

In summary, peripheral drift illusions exploit the characteristics of the peripheral vision, such as sensitivity to movement and lower resolution, and the way the brain interprets visual information to create the illusion of movement in stationary images.

Versions of Peripheral Drift Illusions

The following are some other examples of peripheral drift illusions




Cafe Wall Variant with Peripheral drift
From Wikimedia Commons


Rotating Snakes Autokinetic effect
From Wikimedia Commons



Peripheral drift illusion
From Wikimedia Commons



peripheral-drift-illusion-giving-a-throbbing-effect
From Wikimedia Commons



Primrose_field_peripheral_drift_illusion
From Wikimedia Commons


Peripheral_drift_illusion_blue-and-orange-wormhole


Illusions like the Peripheral Drift Illusions

Peripheral drift illusions refer to a group of optical illusions where an object or pattern appears to be moving even though it is stationary. These illusions are often characterized by a perceived movement in the peripheral vision, hence the name.

The following are some illusions related to Peripheral Drift Illusions

The rotating snakes is a peripheral drift illusion that consists of a grid of shapes, with some of them appearing to be rotating or undulating. The illusion is created by the interaction of the shapes with the neural processing of the visual system.

Rotating Snakes Autokinetic effect
A Version of Rotating Snakes


The Moiré pattern illusion: This illusion is created by superimposing two similar patterns on top of each other, such as a grid of lines or circles. The resulting pattern appears to be moving or changing.


Moiré_pattern
From Wikimedia Commons


The Scintillating Grid Illusion, in which a grid of black and white squares appears to pulsate or “breathe” when viewed from the periphery of the image.

Simultaneous Contrast Illusion



The Hermann Grid Illusion, in which the intersections of a white grid on a black background appear to be gray, even though they are actually the same color as the background.

Hermann-Grid Illusion


The Zöllner Illusion, in which parallel lines appear to be tilted or bent when intersected by diagonal lines.

Zöllner illusion


The Fraser Spiral Illusion, in which a pattern of short, curved lines appears to form a spiral.

Fraser-spiral-illusion.




The Café Wall Illusion is a visual illusion that is created by a grid of alternating light and dark horizontal and vertical lines. The lines appear to be bent or tilted, even though they are actually straight.

Cafe Wall Illusion



These illusions are usually caused by the way our eyes process visual information and the way the brain interprets it. They can also be caused by the interaction of different visual elements, such as lines and angles, in the image. They are often used in research on visual perception and the neural basis of perception.


Discovery of the Peripheral Drift Illusions

It is not clear who first discovered peripheral drift illusions. These type of illusions have been observed and studied by various researchers over time, and many studies have contributed to the understanding of the phenomenon.

Peripheral drift illusions have been observed since the early 20th century and have been studied by various researchers in the field of visual perception, including scientists, psychologists, and neuroscientists.

Some of the early studies on peripheral drift illusions were conducted by the German physiologist Ernst Mach in the late 19th century, and later by the German psychologist Max Wertheimer in the early 20th century.

In the 20th century, several scientists and researchers have made significant contributions to the understanding of peripheral drift illusions and the underlying neural mechanisms, such as the American psychologist J.J. Gibson, the American neuroscientist David Hubel, and the British neuroscientist Melvyn Goodale.

It is likely that peripheral drift illusions were discovered by multiple individuals independently


References and Resources

Check out our complete list of illusions and this cool purple peripheral drift illusion.