PeerJ (Jun 2016)

A closer look at four-dot masking of a foveated target

  • Marwan Daar,
  • Hugh R. Wilson

DOI
https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.2068
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 4
p. e2068

Abstract

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Four-dot masking with a common onset mask was recently demonstrated in a fully attended and foveated target (Filmer, Mattingley & Dux, 2015). Here, we replicate and extend this finding by directly comparing a four-dot mask with an annulus mask while probing masking as a function of mask duration, and target-mask separation. Our results suggest that while an annulus mask operates via spatially local contour interactions, a four-dot mask operates through spatially global mechanisms. We also measure how the visual system’s representation of an oriented bar is impacted by a four-dot mask, and find that masking here does not degrade the precision of perceived targets, but instead appears to be driven exclusively by rendering the target completely invisible.

Keywords