Using the ambiguous plaid stimuli to investigate the influence of immediate prior experience on perception

Authors

Olivia L. Carter, University of MelbourneFollow
Joel S. Snyder, University of Nevada, Las VegasFollow
Sandy Fung, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Nava Rubin, New York University

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1-1-2014

Publication Title

Attention, perception, and Psychophysics

Volume

76

Issue

1

First page number:

133

Last page number:

147

Abstract

In a series of three experiments, we used an ambiguous plaid motion stimulus to explore the behavioral and electrophysiological effects of prior stimulus exposures and perceptual states on current awareness. The results showed that prior exposure to a stimulus biased toward one percept led to subsequent suppression of that percept. In contrast, in the absence of stimulus bias, prior perceptual experience can have a facilitative influence. The suppressive effects caused by the prior stimulus were found to transfer to an ambiguous plaid test stimulus rotated 180º relative to the adaptation stimulus, but were abolished if (1) the ambiguous test stimulus was only rotated 90º relative to the adaptation stimulus or (2) the adaptation stimulus was heavily biased toward the component grating percept. Event-related potential recordings were consistent with the involvement of visual cortical areas and suggested that the influence of recent stimulus exposure may involve recruitment of additional brain processes beyond those responsible for initial stimulus encoding. In contrast, the effects of prior and current perceptual experience appeared to depend on similar brain processes. Although the data presented here focus on vision, the work is discussed within the context of data from a parallel series of experiments in audition.

Keywords

Audition; Electroencephalography; Motion; Multistability; Rivalry; Vision

Disciplines

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy | Medicine and Health Sciences | Mental and Social Health

Language

English

Permissions

Use Find in Your Library, contact the author, or interlibrary loan to garner a copy of the item. Publisher policy does not allow archiving the final published version. If a post-print (author's peer-reviewed manuscript) is allowed and available, or publisher policy changes, the item will be deposited.

Repository Citation

Carter, O. L., Snyder, J. S., Fung, S., Rubin, N. (2014). Using the ambiguous plaid stimuli to investigate the influence of immediate prior experience on perception. Attention, perception, and Psychophysics, 76(1), 133-147.