The middle temporal (MT/V5) area is one of the most studied visual areas of the brain. Given its key role in visual motion processing and the predominance of visual motion in our environment, it is not surprising that MT neurons have been extensively tested and a wide range of response properties uncovered (for reviews see Born & Bradley,
2005; Bradley & Goyal,
2008; Krekelberg & Albright,
2005; Newsome, Britten, Salzman, & Movshon,
1990; Pack & Born,
2008). Numerous attempts have also been made to build theoretical models of the mechanisms underlying MT neuron properties (e.g., Adelson & Movshon,
1982; Albright,
1984; Bowns,
2002; Chey, Grossberg, & Mingolla,
1997; Grzywacz & Yuille,
1990; Johnston, McOwan, & Buxton,
1992; Movshon, Adelson, Gizzi, & Newsome,
1985; Nishimoto & Gallant,
2011; Nowlan & Sejnowski,
1995; Perrone,
2004; Qian, Andersen, & Adelson,
1994; Rust, Mante, Simoncelli, & Movshon,
2006; Simoncelli & Heeger,
1998; Snowden, Treue, Erickson, & Andersen,
1991), but models that can use two-dimensional image sequences for input and which have realistic front-end filters that match the properties of the neurons in the stage preceding MT (V1) are few and far between (see Perrone,
2004). In order to correctly compare such models against MT neurons, the models must be able to be tested with the same stimuli used to test the neurons so that factors such as contrast and spatial frequency content are taken into account.