Abstract
Paracontrast and metacontrast magnitudes were measured in a target identification task. A particular class of illusory contours is described that did not mask in the paracontrast condition but did show a large metacontrast magnitude. The discontinuity in the masking function is interpreted in terms of the Fourier decomposition of the visual scene that is performed by cells selectively responsive to discrete bands of spatial frequencies. The class of contours that we describe can only mask through inhibition generated by their low spatial frequencies. These results are consistent with recent models of masking based on two independent modes of inhibition—within sustained visual channels, and between sustained and transient visual channels.
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D.G. was supported by NIH Grant HD07036-01 during the course of this work.
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Gilden, D.L., MacDonald, K.E. & Lasaga, M.I. Masking with minimal contours: Selective inhibition with low spatial frequencies. Perception & Psychophysics 44, 127–132 (1988). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03208704
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03208704