Interactions between self-motion and depth perception in the processing of optic flow

Moving and acting in a 3D environment requires the perception of its 3D structure. Vision is known to play a crucial role in the control of self-motion, particularly through the changes in the retinal image subsequent to movements of the observer. Reciprocally, signals related to self-motion can also influence our visual perception of 3D space. These interactions between 3D visual perception and self-motion, as demonstrated behaviourally, are now better understood thanks to the development of computational models for processing moving images. They also bear a particular interest in the context of the recent intensive exploration of the inferior parietal lobe (IPL) by neurophysiologists. The IPL is now firmly established as one site of interaction between 3D visual perception and motor control. The parallel between behaviour and neurophysiology leads to a set of crucial, yet unanswered, questions.