Cookies on this website

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you click 'Accept all cookies' we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies and you won't see this message again. If you click 'Reject all non-essential cookies' only necessary cookies providing core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility will be enabled. Click 'Find out more' for information on how to change your cookie settings.

It is increasingly clear that we extract patterns of temporal regularity between events to optimize information processing. Whereas some of the mechanisms for facilitating action preparation and execution have been well documented, much less is understood about whether and how temporal expectations influence visual perception. We used a psychophysical paradigm and computational modeling to investigate the mechanisms by which temporal expectation can modulate visual perception. Visual targets appeared in a stream of noise-patches separated by a fixed (400 ms regular condition) or jittered (200/300/400/500/600 ms irregular condition) intervals. Targets were visual gratings tilted 45° clockwise or counter-clockwise, presented at one of seven contrast levels. Human observers were required to perform an orientation discrimination (i.e., left or right). Psychometric functions for contrast sensitivity fitted for the regular and irregular conditions indicated that temporal expectation modulates perceptual processing by enhancing the contrast sensitivity of visual targets. This increase in the signal strength was accompanied by a reduction in reaction times. A diffusion model indicated that rhythmic temporal expectation enhanced the signal-to-noise gain of the sensory evidence upon which decisions were made. These effects support the idea that temporal structure of external events can entrain the attentional focus and psychophysical data, optimizing the processing of relevant sensory information.

Original publication

DOI

10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0804-12.2012

Type

Journal article

Journal

J Neurosci

Publication Date

13/06/2012

Volume

32

Pages

8424 - 8428

Keywords

Adult, Anticipation, Psychological, Discrimination (Psychology), Female, Humans, Male, Models, Psychological, Photic Stimulation, Reaction Time, Time Factors, Visual Perception