Abstract
Using patterned stimulation without luminance change, the authors manipulated the stimulus duration and measured three variables: the magnitude of contrast experience, simple reaction time, and the amplitude of pattern-specific visual evoked potentials. While contrast experience, measured by the scaling method, indicated no saturation below 85 msec, the other two variables saturated below 40 msec. The lower saturation value of the pattern-specific evoked potential is considered as the limit of the correlation between psychophysical measures and brain electric activity. This suprathreshold divergence can be seen as evidence that processes underlying the pattern-specific visual evoked potential components cannot be considered as mechanisms mediating subjective experience of spatial contrast.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Bernstein, I. H., Futch, D. G., &Schurman, D. L. Some exposure duration effects on simple reaction time.Journal of Experimental Psychology, 1973,97, 317–322.
Baoadbent, D. E. Stimulus set and response set: Two kinds of selective attention. In D. I. Mostofsky (Ed.),Attention: Contemporary theory and analysis. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts, 1970.
Buchsbaum, M. S., &Drago, D. Hemispheric asymmetry in the effects of attention on the visual evoked response. In J. E. Desment (Ed.),Language and hemispheric specialization in man: Event-related cerebral potentials. Progress in clinical neurophysiology (Vol. 3). Basel: Karger, 1979.
Campbell, F. W., &Kulikowski, J. J. The visual evoked potential as a function of contrast of a grating pattern.Journal of Physiology, 1972,222, 345–356.
Campbell, F. W., &Maffei, L. Electrophysiological evidence for the existence of orientation and size detectors in human visual system.Journal of Physiology, 1970,207, 635–652.
Cattell, J. McK. The influence of the intensity of the stimulus on the length of the reaction time.Brain, 1886,9, 512–515.
Czigler, I. Effects of spatial contrast on simple reaction time and visual evoked potentials. In L. Kardos (Ed.),Problems of information processing and perceptual organization. Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1978.
Eason, R. G., Harter, M. R., &White, C. T. Effects of attention and arousal on visual evoked cortical potentials and reaction time in man.Physiology & Behavior, 1969,4, 283–289.
Fiorentini, A., &Maffei, L. Contrast perception and electrophysiological correlates.Journal of Physiology, 1973,231, 61–69.
Harter, M. R., &White, C. T. Evoked cortical responses to checkerboard patterns: Effect of check-size as a function of visual acuity.Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology, 1970,28, 48–53.
Jeffreys, D. A., &Axford, J. G. Source locations of pattern-specific components of human visual evoked potentials. I. Component of striate cortical origin.Experimental Brain Research, 1972,16, 1–21. (a)
Jeffbeys, D. A., &Axford, J. G. Source locations of pattern-specific components of human visual evoked potentials. II. Component of extrastriate cortical origin.Experimental Brain Research, 1972,16, 22–40. (b)
Kietzman, M. L., &Gillam, B. J. Visual temporal integration and simple reaction time.Perception & Psychophysics, 1972,11, 333–340.
MacKay, D. M. Psychophysics of perceived intensity: A theoretical basis for Fechner’s and Stevens’ laws.Science, 1963,139, 1213–1216.
MacKay, D. M., &Jeffreys, A. D. Visually evoked potentials and visual perception in man. In R. Jung (Ed.),Handbook of sensory physiology (Vol. 7/3). Berlin: Springer-Verlag, 1973.
Mansfield, R. J. W. Latency functions in human vision.Vision Research, 1973,13, 2219–2234.
Marg, E., Freeman, D. N., Peltzman, P., &Goldstein, P. J. Visual acuity development in human infants: Evoked potential measurements.Investigative Ophthalmology, 1976,15, 150–153.
Raab, D. H., Fehrer, E., &Hershenson, M. Visual reaction time and the Broca-Sulzer phenomenon.Journal of Experimental Psychology, 1961,61, 193–199.
Regan, D.Evoked potentials in psychology, sensory physiology and clinical medicine. London: Chapman & Hall, 1972.
Sokol, S. Measurement of infant visual acuity from pattern reversal evoked potentials.Vision Research, 1978,18, 33–39.
Spekreijse, H., Van der Tweel, L. H., &Zuidema, Th. Contrast evoked responses in man.Vision Research, 1973,13, 1577–1601.
Stevens, S. S. Issues in psychophysical measurement.Psychological Review, 1971,78, 426–450.
Van Voorhis, S., &Hillyard, S. A. Visual evoked potentials and selective attention to points in space.Perception & Psychophysics, 1972,22, 54–62.
Vaughan, H. G., Jr.,Costa, L. D., &Gilden, L. The functional relation of visual evoked response and reaction time to stimulus intensity.Vision Research, 1966,6, 645–656.
Vaughan, H. G., Jr., &Hull, R. C. Functional relationship between stimulus intensity and photically evoked cerebral responses in man.Nature, 1965,266, 720–722.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Czigler, I., Tölgyesi, M. Changes in perceived contrast, reaction time, and pattern-specific evoked potentials due to stimulus duration. Perception & Psychophysics 28, 458–464 (1980). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03204890
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03204890