The temporal frequency tuning of continuous flash suppression reveals peak suppression at very low frequencies

Continuous flash suppression (CFS) is a psychophysical technique where a rapidly changing Mondrian pattern viewed by one eye suppresses the target in the other eye for several seconds. Despite the widespread use of CFS to study unconscious visual processes, the temporal tuning of CFS suppression is...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Scientific reports 2016-10, Vol.6 (1), p.35723-35723, Article 35723
Main Authors: Han, Shui’er, Lunghi, Claudia, Alais, David
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
631/378/2613
631/477/2811
Binocular vision
Cognitive science
Eye
Humanities and Social Sciences
Information processing
multidisciplinary
Neuroscience
Psychophysics
Science
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Summary:Continuous flash suppression (CFS) is a psychophysical technique where a rapidly changing Mondrian pattern viewed by one eye suppresses the target in the other eye for several seconds. Despite the widespread use of CFS to study unconscious visual processes, the temporal tuning of CFS suppression is currently unknown. In the present study we used spatiotemporally filtered dynamic noise as masking stimuli to probe the temporal characteristics of CFS. Surprisingly, we find that suppression in CFS peaks very prominently at approximately 1 Hz, well below the rates typically used in CFS studies (10 Hz or more). As well as a strong bias to low temporal frequencies, CFS suppression is greater for high spatial frequencies and increases with increasing masker contrast, indicating involvement of parvocellular/ventral mechanisms in the suppression process. These results are reminiscent of binocular rivalry, and unifies two phenomenon previously thought to require different explanations.
ISSN:2045-2322
2045-2322
DOI:10.1038/srep35723