Effect of stimulus intensity on manual and saccadic reaction time

Reaction time (RT) decreases with stimulus intensity. Hughes and Kesley (1984) demonstrated, however, that the effect of stimulus intensity on simple RT is larger for manual than for saccadic responses. We reexamined this relation under various conditions. The dissociation occurred when the task enabled the generation of exogenous saccades. We found, however, no dissociation if endogenous saccades had to be executed. It is hypothesized that the different effects of intensity result from the simplified neuronal processing of exogenous saccades performed in the direct route from the retina to the superior colliculus.

[1]  Douglas P. Munoz,et al.  The underrated role of the “move system” in determining saccade latency , 1999, Behavioral and Brain Sciences.

[2]  J. Roufs.  Dynamic properties of vision. IV. Thresholds of decremental flashes, incremental flashes and doublets in relation to flicker fusion. , 1974, Vision research.

[3]  P. Jaśkowski.  Chapter 11 Reaction time and temporal-order judgment as measures of perceptual latency: The problem of dissociations , 1999 .

[4]  Y Rossetti,et al.  Grasping without form discrimination in a hemianopic field , 1996, Neuroreport.

[5]  M G Saslow,et al.  Latency for saccadic eye movement. , 1967, Journal of the Optical Society of America.

[6]  Lance M. Optican,et al.  Superior colliculus cell types and models of saccade generation , 1994, Current Opinion in Neurobiology.

[7]  J. Müsseler,et al.  'Judgement' vs. 'response': A general problem and some experimental illustrations , 1990 .

[8]  J. Roufs.  Dynamic properties of vision. V. Perception lag and reaction time in relation to flicker and flash thresholds. , 1974, Vision research.

[9]  R. Walker,et al.  A model of saccade generation based on parallel processing and competitive inhibition , 1999, Behavioral and Brain Sciences.

[10]  A. Lit,et al.  Luminance-dependent visual latency for the hess effect, the pulfrich effect, and simple reaction time , 1983, Vision Research.

[11]  P. Jaśkowski,et al.  Simple Reaction Time and Perception of Temporal Order: Dissociations and Hypotheses , 1996, Perceptual and motor skills.

[12]  R. L. Knoll,et al.  The Perception of Temporal Order: Fundamental Issues and a General Model , 1973 .

[13]  A. Marcel,et al.  Blindsight and shape perception: deficit of visual consciousness or of visual function? , 1998, Brain : a journal of neurology.

[14]  J. May,et al.  Saccadic latency during perceptual processing and sequence learning , 2004, Documenta Ophthalmologica.

[15]  O. Neumann.  Direct parameter specification and the concept of perception , 1990, Psychological research.

[16]  H G Vaughan,et al.  The functional relation of visual evoked response and reaction time to stimulus intensity. , 1966, Vision research.

[17]  Ehtibar N. Dzhafarov,et al.  The structure of simple reaction time to step-function signals , 1992 .

[18]  Alison M. Harman,et al.  Blindsight in Subjects with Homonymous Visual Field Defects , 1999, Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience.

[19]  R. Verleger,et al.  Attentional Bias toward Low-Intensity Stimuli: An Explanation for the Intensity Dissociation between Reaction Time and Temporal Order Judgment? , 2000, Consciousness and Cognition.

[20]  Lawrence Weiskrantz,et al.  Consciousness Lost and Found: A Neuropsychological Exploration , 1999 .

[21]  Lawrence Weiskrantz,et al.  Spatial channels of visual processing in cortical blindness , 2003, The European journal of neuroscience.

[22]  D. Pins,et al.  On the relation between stimulus intensity and processing time: Piéron’s law and choice reaction time , 1996, Perception & psychophysics.

[23]  H. Hughes,et al.  Response-dependent effects on near-threshold detection performance: Saccades versus manual responses , 1984, Perception & psychophysics.

[24]  Robert Nullmeyer,et al.  Human reaction time: Toward a general theory , 1982 .

[25]  A. Milner.  Streams and consciousness: visual awareness and the brain , 1998, Trends in Cognitive Sciences.

[26]  R. Mansfield,et al.  Latency functions in human vision. , 1973, Vision research.

[27]  C. Pierrot-Deseilligny,et al.  Cortical control of saccades , 1998, Experimental Brain Research.

[28]  T. Bachmann,et al.  Cognitive contributions to the perception of spatial and temporal events (Advances in Psychology, Vol. 129) , 1999 .

[29]  Robin Walker,et al.  Control of voluntary and reflexive saccades , 2000, Experimental Brain Research.

[30]  Piotr Jaśkowski.  Temporal-order judgment and reaction time for short and long stimuli , 1992, Psychological research.

[31]  L Weiskrantz,et al.  Visual capacity in the hemianopic field following a restricted occipital ablation. , 1974, Brain : a journal of neurology.

[32]  M. Ptito,et al.  'Seeing' in the blind hemifield following hemispherectomy. , 2001, Progress in brain research.

[33]  A. Lit,et al.  The Pulfrich effect, simple reaction time, and intensity discrimination , 1976 .

[34]  Jeff Miller,et al.  Locus of the effect of the number of alternative responses : Evidence from the lateralized readiness potential , 1998 .

[35]  Alan Cowey,et al.  The neurobiology of blindsight , 1991, Trends in Neurosciences.

[36]  J. Daugman,et al.  Retinal mechanisms of visual latency , 1978, Vision Research.

[37]  M. Goodale,et al.  The visual brain in action , 1995 .

[38]  Casimir J. H. Ludwig,et al.  Stimulus-driven and goal-driven control over visual selection. , 2002, Journal of experimental psychology. Human perception and performance.

[39]  Rolf Ulrich,et al.  Effects of stimulus intensity on the lateralized readiness potential , 1999 .

[40]  B. Sabel,et al.  Restoration of vision II: residual functions and training-induced visual field enlargement in brain-damaged patients. , 1999, Restorative neurology and neuroscience.

[41]  Jeffrey N. Rouder,et al.  Modeling Response Times for Two-Choice Decisions , 1998 .

[42]  A. Sanders.  20 Stage Analysis of Reaction Processes , 1980 .

[43]  G. Stelmach,et al.  Tutorials in Motor Behavior , 1980 .

[44]  Wolfgang Prinz,et al.  Psychophysical explorations of mental structures , 1990 .

[45]  Jüri Allik,et al.  Multiple Visual Latency , 1998 .