Explaining attractive and repulsive biases in the subjective visual vertical

Abstract

Perception of gravity can be assessed by measuring the subjective visual vertical (SVV), the visually indicated spatial direction that appears earth-vertical to an observer. When the SVV is measured in darkness while the observer is roll-tilted, it shows substantial biases. At tilts larger than 45{degrees}, the bias is attractive, that is, the visual indicator appears vertical when rotated toward the observer. At smaller tilts, however, a repulsive bias is observed. The attractive bias has been explained within the Bayesian framework as the effect of a prior for upright posture. The repulsive bias has so far been considered anti-Bayesian, suboptimal, or as the result of uncompensated ocular counterroll. Here we show that both biases can be explained within a purely Bayesian model. More specifically, the repulsive bias at small roll-tilts is a consequence of the known tilt-dependent variability of the SVV, which is hypothesized to reflect different levels of sensory noise of the otolith organs. We thus provide a solution to a century-old question of why there is a repulsive bias in vertical perception.