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Inhibition of Return impairs phosphene detection

Smith, DT; Ball, K; Ellison, A

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Authors

K Ball



Abstract

Efficient visual exploration requires the ability to select possible target locations via spatial attention and to deselect previously inspected locations via inhibition of return (IOR). Although a great deal is known about the effects of spatial attention on processing in visual cortex, much less is known about the effects of IOR on early visual areas. One possibility is that IOR acts in an opposite way to spatial attention, such that, whereas spatial attention enhances target related neural signals in visual cortex, IOR suppress target-related signals. Using a novel dual-coil TMS protocol, we found that IOR reduced the probability of detecting a TMS-induced phosphene in extrastriate cortex (V5). Specifically, a nonpredictive spatial precue presented 500 or 800 msec before stimulation significantly reduced the probability of detecting a phosphene when the precue appeared contralaterally to the site of stimulation (i.e., ipsilaterally to the potential location of the phosphene), compared with ipsilaterally or centrally presented cues. This result demonstrates that IOR facilitates visual exploration by directly affecting the strength of target-related signals in extrastriate visual cortex. This result is consistent with neurophysiological models of attention, which postulate that IOR modulates perception by biasing competition between sensory representations.

Citation

Smith, D., Ball, K., & Ellison, A. (2012). Inhibition of Return impairs phosphene detection. The Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 24(11), 2262-2267. https://doi.org/10.1162/jocn_a_00276

Journal Article Type Article
Publication Date Nov 1, 2012
Deposit Date Nov 12, 2012
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Journal Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience
Print ISSN 0898-929X
Electronic ISSN 1530-8898
Publisher Massachusetts Institute of Technology Press
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 24
Issue 11
Pages 2262-2267
DOI https://doi.org/10.1162/jocn_a_00276

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Copyright Statement
© 2012 Massachusetts Institute of Technology





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