Zhaoping L, Liu Y. The central-peripheral dichotomy and metacontrast masking.
Perception 2022;
51:549-564. [PMID:
35850564 PMCID:
PMC9346193 DOI:
10.1177/03010066221108281]
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Abstract
According to the central-peripheral dichotomy (CPD), feedback from higher to
lower cortical areas along the visual pathway to aid recognition is weaker in
the more peripheral visual field. Metacontrast masking is predominantly a
reduced visibility of a brief target by a brief and spatially adjacent mask when
the mask succeeds rather than precedes or coincides with the target. If this
masking works mainly by interfering with the feedback mechanisms for target
recognition, then, by the CPD, this masking should be weaker at more peripheral
visual locations. We extended the metacontrast masking at fovea by Enns and Di Lollo to
visual field eccentricities 1∘, 3∘, and 9∘. Relative to the target’s onset, the mask appeared at a
stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) of −50, 0, 50, 92, or 142 milliseconds (ms). Enlarged stimuli were
used for larger eccentricities to equalize target discrimination performance
across eccentricities as best as possible for zero SOA and when SOA was too long
for substantial masking. At each eccentricity, the masking was weakest at 0 or −50 ms SOA, strongest at 50 ms SOA, and weakened with larger
(positive) SOAs. Consistent with the CPD, larger eccentricities presented weaker
maskings at all nonzero, and particularly the positive, SOAs.
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