149 research outputs found
Temporal processes in primeâmask interaction: Assessing perceptual consequences of masked information
Visual backward masking is frequently used to study the temporal dynamics of
visual perception. These dynamics may include the temporal features of conscious
percepts, as suggested, for instance, by the asynchronousâupdating model (Neumann, 1982) and perceptualâretouch
theory ((Bachmann, 1994). These models
predict that the perceptual latency of a visual backward mask is shorter than
that of a like reference stimulus that was not preceded by a masked stimulus.
The prediction has been confirmed by studies using temporalâorder judgments: For
certain asynchronies between mask and reference stimulus, temporalâorder
reversals are quite frequent (e.g. Scharlau,
& Neumann, 2003a). However, it may be argued that these
reversals were due to a response bias in favour of the mask rather than true
temporal-perceptual effects. I introduce two measures for assessing latency
effects that (1) are not prone to such a response bias, (2) allow to quantify
the latency gain, and (3) extend the perceptual evidence from order reversals to
duration/interval perception, that is, demonstrate that the perceived interval
between a mask and a reference stimulus may be shortened as well as prolonged by
the presence of a masked stimulus. Consequences for theories of visual masking
such as asynchronousâupdating, perceptualâretouch, and reentrant models are
discussed
Uncertainty Relations in Deformation Quantization
Robertson and Hadamard-Robertson theorems on non-negative definite hermitian
forms are generalized to an arbitrary ordered field. These results are then
applied to the case of formal power series fields, and the
Heisenberg-Robertson, Robertson-Schr\"odinger and trace uncertainty relations
in deformation quantization are found. Some conditions under which the
uncertainty relations are minimized are also given.Comment: 28+1 pages, harvmac file, no figures, typos correcte
Top-down contingent feature-specific orienting with and without awareness of the visual input
In the present article, the role of endogenous feature-specific orienting for
conscious and unconscious vision is reviewed. We start with an overview of
orienting. We proceed with a review of masking research, and the definition of
the criteria of experimental protocols that demonstrate endogenous and exogenous
orienting, respectively. Against this background of criteria, we assess studies
of unconscious orienting and come to the conclusion that so far studies of
unconscious orienting demonstrated endogenous feature-specific orienting. The
review closes with a discussion of the role of unconscious orienting in action
control
Follow the sign! Top-down contingent attentional capture of masked arrow cues
Arrow cues and other overlearned spatial symbols automatically orient attention
according to their spatial meaning. This renders them similar to exogenous cues
that occur at stimulus location. Exogenous cues trigger shifts of attention even
when they are presented subliminally. Here, we investigate to what extent the
mechanisms underlying the orienting of attention by exogenous cues and by arrow
cues are comparable by analyzing the effects of visible and masked arrow cues on
attention. In Experiment 1, we presented arrow cues with overall 50% validity.
Visible cues, but not masked cues, lead to shifts of attention. In Experiment 2,
the arrow cues had an overall validity of 80%. Now both visible and masked
arrows lead to shifts of attention. This is in line with findings that
subliminal exogenous cues capture attention only in a top-down contingent
manner, that is, when the cues fit the observerâs intentions
Binding binding: Departure points for a different version of the perceptual retouch theory
In the perceptual retouch theory, masking and related microgenetic phenomena were
explained as a result of interaction between specific cortical representational
systems and the non-specific sub-cortical modulation system. Masking appears as
deprivation of sufficient modulation of the consciousness mechanism suffered by
the target-specific signals because of the temporal delay of non-specific
modulation (necessary for conscious representation), which explicates the
later-coming mask information instead of the already decayed target information.
The core of the model envisaged relative magnitudes of EPSPs of single cortical
cells driven by target and mask signals at the moment when the nonspecific,
presynaptic, excitatory input arrives from the thalamus. In the light of the
current evidence about the importance of synchronised activity of specific and
non-specific systems in generating consciousness, the retouch theory requires
perhaps a different view. This article presents some premises for modification
of the retouch theory, where instead of the cumulative presynaptic spike
activities and EPSPs of single cells, the oscillatory activity in the gamma
range of the participating systems is considered and shown to be consistent with
the basic ideas of the retouch theory. In this conceptualisation, O-binding
refers to specific encoding which is based on gamma-band synchronised
oscillations in the activity of specific cortical sensory modules that represent
features and objects; C-binding refers to the gamma-band oscillations in the
activity of the non-specific thalamic systems, which is necessary for the
O-binding based data to become consciously experienced
Neuro-cognitive mechanisms of conscious and unconscious visual perception: From a plethora of phenomena to general principles
Psychological and neuroscience approaches have promoted much progress in
elucidating the cognitive and neural mechanisms that underlie phenomenal visual
awareness during the last decades. In this article, we provide an overview of
the latest research investigating important phenomena in conscious and
unconscious vision. We identify general principles to characterize conscious and
unconscious visual perception, which may serve as important building blocks for
a unified model to explain the plethora of findings. We argue that in particular
the integration of principles from both conscious and unconscious vision is
advantageous and provides critical constraints for developing adequate
theoretical models. Based on the principles identified in our review, we outline
essential components of a unified model of conscious and unconscious visual
perception. We propose that awareness refers to consolidated
visual representations, which are accessible to the entire brain and therefore
globally available. However, visual awareness not only depends
on consolidation within the visual system, but is additionally the result of a
post-sensory gating process, which is mediated by higher-level cognitive control
mechanisms. We further propose that amplification of visual representations by
attentional sensitization is not exclusive to the domain of conscious
perception, but also applies to visual stimuli, which remain unconscious.
Conscious and unconscious processing modes are highly interdependent with
influences in both directions. We therefore argue that exactly this
interdependence renders a unified model of conscious and unconscious visual
perception valuable. Computational modeling jointly with focused experimental
research could lead to a better understanding of the plethora of empirical
phenomena in consciousness research
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