p286fig07.04 Illusory contours persist longer than real contours because real contours have more inducers whose rebound at contour offset can cause faster boundary reset.  Illusory contours also take longer to form than real contours, which explains the increasing portion of the curve.<BR>||  Persistence data and simulations (Meyer, Ming 1988; Reynolds 1981). Increasing portion of curve is due to formation time of the illusory contour.  Longer persistence is due to fewer bottom-up inducers of an illusory contour that has the same length as a real contour: only illuminance-derived edges generate reset signals.  When bottom-up inducers are inhibited by OFF cell rebounds, their offset gradually propagates to the center of the illusory contour.