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Further Examination of the Pulsed- and Steady-Pedestal Paradigms under Hypothetical Parvocellular- and Magnocellular-Biased Conditions

Authors :
Jaeseon Song
Bruno G. Breitmeyer
James M. Brown
Source :
Vision, Vol 8, Iss 2, p 28 (2024)
Publication Year :
2024
Publisher :
MDPI AG, 2024.

Abstract

The pulsed- and steady-pedestal paradigms were designed to track increment thresholds (ΔC) as a function of pedestal contrast (C) for the parvocellular (P) and magnocellular (M) systems, respectively. These paradigms produce contrasting results: linear relationships between ΔC and C are observed in the pulsed-pedestal paradigm, indicative of the P system’s processing, while the steady-pedestal paradigm reveals nonlinear functions, characteristic of the M system’s response. However, we recently found the P model fits better than the M model for both paradigms, using Gabor stimuli biased towards the M or P systems based on their sensitivity to color and spatial frequency. Here, we used two-square pedestals under green vs. red light in the lower-left vs. upper-right visual fields to bias processing towards the M vs. P system, respectively. Based on our previous findings, we predicted the following: (1) steeper ΔC vs. C functions with the pulsed than the steady pedestal due to different task demands; (2) lower ΔCs in the upper-right vs. lower-left quadrant due to its bias towards P-system processing there; (3) no effect of color, since both paradigms track the P-system; and, most importantly (4) contrast gain should not be higher for the steady than for the pulsed pedestal. In general, our predictions were confirmed, replicating our previous findings and providing further evidence questioning the general validity of using the pulsed- and steady-pedestal paradigms to differentiate the P and M systems.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
24115150
Volume :
8
Issue :
2
Database :
Directory of Open Access Journals
Journal :
Vision
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
edsdoj.30e7d0f5eb244570bf2908466915d42c
Document Type :
article
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.3390/vision8020028