Effects of ISI and flash duration on the identification of briefly flashed stimuli.

The identification accuracy of briefly flashed stimuli followed by an interstimulus interval (ISI) of variable length was compared to that obtained with longer flashes that prolonged the exposure of the stimulus throughout the ISI. The interval between the onset of the stimulus and the onset of the mask (stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA)) was the same in the two conditions. Consistent with a dependence of visual identification on SOA, the percentages of correct identification in the two conditions were approximately similar at all SOAs irrespective of the level of noise, stimulus familiarity, and stimulus complexity. However, departures from the onset-onset rule were also present. While the two conditions yielded virtually identical identification accuracy with an SOA of 80 ms, small but significant differences were found for shorter and longer intervals. Possible theoretical explanations of the results are presented.

[1]  T. Gawne,et al.  Responses of primate visual cortical neurons to stimuli presented by flash, saccade, blink, and external darkening. , 2002, Journal of neurophysiology.

[2]  D. J. K. Mewhort,et al.  On the transfer from iconic to short-term memory , 1969 .

[3]  Phillip Liss,et al.  Does backward masking by visual noise stop stimulus processing? , 1968 .

[4]  L. Rosenblood,et al.  Recognition after tachistoscopic presentations of complex pictorial stimuli. , 1975 .

[5]  C W Eriksen,et al.  The use of a visual mask may seriously confound your experiment , 1980, Perception & psychophysics.

[6]  G. Sperling.  A Model for Visual Memory Tasks1 , 1963, Human factors.

[7]  J. S. Monahan,et al.  Stimulus luminance and dichoptic pattern masking , 1977, Vision Research.

[8]  Bruno G. Breitmeyer,et al.  Visual masking : an integrative approach , 1984 .

[9]  E. Warrington,et al.  Further Studies on the Masking of brief Visual Stimuli by a Random Pattern , 1962 .

[10]  T. Spencer,et al.  Evidence for an interruption theory of backward masking. , 1970, Journal of experimental psychology.

[11]  M. Livingstone,et al.  Neuronal correlates of visibility and invisibility in the primate visual system , 1998, Nature Neuroscience.

[12]  J. Kaswan,et al.  Stimulus exposure time, brightness, and spatial factors as determinants of visual perception. , 1963, Journal of experimental psychology.

[13]  Ralph Norman Haber,et al.  Processing of sequentially presented letters , 1969 .

[14]  M. Turvey.  On peripheral and central processes in vision: inferences from an information-processing analysis of masking with patterned stimuli. , 1973, Psychological review.

[15]  A. L. Humphrey,et al.  Functionally distinct groups of X‐cells in the lateral geniculate nucleus of the cat , 1988, The Journal of comparative neurology.

[16]  M. Rucci,et al.  Contributions of fixational eye movements to the discrimination of briefly presented stimuli. , 2003, Journal of vision.

[17]  D. Snodderly,et al.  Response Variability of Neurons in Primary Visual Cortex (V1) of Alert Monkeys , 1997, The Journal of Neuroscience.

[18]  D. Hubel,et al.  Microsaccadic eye movements and firing of single cells in the striate cortex of macaque monkeys , 2000, Nature Neuroscience.

[19]  D. Kahneman.  An onset-onset law for one case of apparent motion and metacontrast , 1967 .

[20]  G. Francis,et al.  Analysis and test of laws for backward (metacontrast) masking. , 2004, Spatial vision.

[21]  Nikos K. Logothetis,et al.  Microsaccades differentially modulate neural activity in the striate and extrastriate visual cortex , 1998, Experimental Brain Research.

[22]  C. Eriksen,et al.  Visual perceptual processing rates and backward and forward masking. , 1971, Journal of experimental psychology.

[23]  S. Thorpe,et al.  The Time Course of Visual Processing: From Early Perception to Decision-Making , 2001, Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience.

[24]  A. Reeves,et al.  Interruption of Dot Processing by a Backward Mask , 1983, Perception.

[25]  H. Spekreijse,et al.  Masking Interrupts Figure-Ground Signals in V1 , 2002, Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience.

[26]  D. Kahneman.  Time-intensity reciprocity under various conditions of adaptation and backward masking. , 1966, Journal of experimental psychology.

[27]  D. Snodderly,et al.  Selective activation of visual cortex neurons by fixational eye movements: Implications for neural coding , 2001, Visual Neuroscience.

[28]  P. H. Schiller.  Metacontrast Interference as Determined by a Method of Comparisons , 1965, Perceptual and motor skills.

[29]  S. Thorpe,et al.  Speed of processing in the human visual system , 1996, Nature.

[30]  B. Bridgeman.  Temporal response characteristics of cells in monkey striate cortex measured with metacontrast masking and brightness discrimination , 1980, Brain Research.

[31]  E. Warrington,et al.  The Effect of an After-coming Random Pattern on the Perception of Brief Visual Stimuli , 1962 .

[32]  J. Duncan,et al.  On the time course of perceptual information that results from a brief visual presentation. , 1992, Journal of experimental psychology. Human perception and performance.

[33]  Retroactive visual masking: effects of test flash duration on the masking interval. , 1967, Vision research.

[34]  M. Potter,et al.  Recognition memory for a rapid sequence of pictures. , 1969, Journal of experimental psychology.