Abstract
In so-called continuous flash suppression (CFS), a dynamic sequence of Mondrian images presented to one eye effectively suppresses a static target in the other eye for many seconds at a time. This strong and enduring interocular suppression is generally attributed to the rapid Mondrian pattern changes, which resemble a series of backward and forward masks. However, using spatiotemporal filtering techniques, recent studies demonstrate similarities with binocular rivalry, with CFS producing strong suppression when stimuli favouring parvocellular streams (slow temporal modulations) are used and when target/masker attributes are matched. To evaluate this discrepancy, we manipulated the pattern and temporal structure of a 10 Hz Mondrian and measured the respective effects on suppression durations. The Mondrian pattern is an ideal masker because it contains an abundance of edge and contour information and these features influence both visual temporal masking and rivalry suppression. Compared to phase scrambled Mondrians, our findings reveal significantly longer suppression durations for intact Mondrian patterns. This suppressive advantage applied to both location and identity judgments, and was predominantly driven by pattern edges. Updating the Mondrian smoothly and continuously resulted in lower suppression durations than the standard, discrete presentation schedule, demonstrating the significant contribution of visual temporal masking in CFS. The differences in suppression durations with an intact, discretely updated Mondrian masker also varied with temporal frequency content, suggesting that there might be a dual component mechanism in CFS involving temporal masking and interocular suppression.
Meeting abstract presented at VSS 2017