Meridional Differences in Temporal Resolution

Previous investigations of temporal resolution have shown that performance is influenced by a number of stimulus parameters. The interstimulus interval needed for accurate two-pulse discrimination has been shown to (i) decrease monotonically with flash duration, luminance, and contrast; and (ii) increase monotonically with the spatial frequency of the target. A signal-detectability two-alternative forced-choice procedure was employed to reexamine the effects of spatial frequency on temporal resolution. Also assessed was the effect of grating orientation on such performance. The results confirm that temporal resolution declines with increases in spatial frequency. Furthermore, temporal resolution was significantly lower when oblique, as opposed to vertical, grating targets were used. This ‘oblique effect’ in temporal resolution was observed only with the highest-spatial-frequency target (15 cycles deg−1), and not with stimuli of lower spatial frequency (0·9 and 3·8 cycles deg−1). These findings suggest that stimulus parameters which elicit greater transient channel activity, as opposed to sustained channel activity, enhance temporal resolution. When transient activity is at a minimum, meridional differences in temporal resolution are likely to be attributable to sustained channel activity.

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