 |
| Research article summary (published 9 Sep 2003): |
Generalized flash suppression of salient visual targets.
Full Abstract
A pattern of light striking the retina of an alert observer is normally readily perceived. While a handful of conditions exist in which even salient visual stimuli can be rendered invisible, the mechanisms underlying such suppression remain poorly understood. Here, we describe experiments using a novel stimulation sequence that gives rise to the sudden and reliable subjective disappearance of a wide range of visual patterns. We found that a parafoveal target immediately vanished from perception following the abrupt onset of a surrounding texture. The probability of disappearance was influenced by the ocular configuration of the target and surround, as well as their spatial separation. In addition, suppression was critically dependent upon several hundred milliseconds of stimulus-specific adaptation. These findings demonstrate that the all-or-none disappearance of a salient visual target, which is reminiscent of a high-level selection process, is inextricably linked to topographic stimulus representations, presumably in the early visual cortex.
Learn Faster Today Improve your study skills
Author information
Author/s: Wilke, Melanie (M); Logothetis, Nikos K (NK); Leopold, David A (DA);
Affiliation: Max Planck Institut für biologische Kybernetik, Spemannstrasse 38, 72076 Tübingen, Germany.
Journal and publication information
Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Journal: Neuron (Neuron), published in United States. (Language: eng)
Reference: 2003-Sep; vol 39 (issue 6) : pp 1043-52
Dates: Created 2003/09/15; Completed 2003/10/14; Revised 2006/11/15;
PMID: 12971902, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 11/6/2008)
Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.
Comments and Corrections
CommentIn: Neuron. 2003 Sep 11;39(6):883-4. (PMID: 12971889)
External Links for this article (including full text providers, if available):
Click Electronic Full-text Provider Links to see options for finding the electronic full text links to this article. Note there may be a subscription or fee required for access to the full text. See our FAQ for information on finding FREE full text articles.
This article may also be located in paper journal collections available in many libraries. Use the Journal and Publication Information above to find the full article.
MeSH headings (categories)
This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.
|
Related articles
This article has not been indexed for related articles as yet, however you can still use the live related article search links below.
See a large map of 100+ related articles.