The Speed of Visual Discrimination Differs between Foveola and Perifovea: A Combined EEG and Behavioral Investigation.

IF 2.7 3区 医学 Q3 NEUROSCIENCES
eNeuro Pub Date : 2025-07-18 DOI:10.1523/ENEURO.0078-25.2025
Alessandro Benedetto, Samantha K Jenks, Maruti V Mishra, Barry Giesbrecht, Martina Poletti
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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Despite the vivid experience of homogeneous vision, our visual system is inherently endowed with highly inhomogeneous structures. Although the temporal characteristics of visual responses vary with eccentricity, the connection between this variation, the speed of visual processing, and its underlying neurophysiological mechanisms remains a topic of debate. Here, we performed simultaneous recordings of high-precision gaze positions and EEG activity to investigate how foveal and perifoveal stimulation impact reaction times (RTs) and visual evoked potentials (VEPs). Volunteers discriminated the position and orientation of a U-shaped figure with the aperture facing either upward or downward. Stimuli were presented briefly (50ms) either in the foveola (0.33°) or perifovea (6.5°), to the right or left of the fixation point. Stimulus size in the perifovea condition was adjusted according to the cortical magnification factor (stimulus size: 0.2° and 0.75° for the foveola and perifovea condition, respectively). When stimuli were equated for sensitivity and cortical area of stimulation, we observed faster RTs in the perifovea condition (16.8 ± 4ms) compared to the foveola. The analysis of the VEP revealed a similar effect for the N1 response (11.0 ± 4ms), a parieto-occipital component associated with discriminative processing and influenced by spatial attention. Overall, our findings suggest that visual discrimination speeds vary across eccentricities, with faster processing and shorter latency of early visual responses in the perifovea compared to the foveola.Significant Statement This study investigates how visual processing speeds vary with eccentricity. By recording high-precision gaze positions and EEG activity, we asked volunteers to discriminate the orientation of a U-shaped figure briefly presented foveally or perifoveally. We found that visual stimuli presented perifoveally led to faster reaction times and shorter visual evoked potentials compared to a foveal presentation. In particular, reaction times for perifoveal stimuli were faster by 16.8 ± 4ms, with similar effects observed in the N1 VEP component (11.0 ± 4ms). These findings suggest that early visual processing is quicker in the perifovea, highlighting the presence of effective temporal inhomogeneities across the retina.

视觉辨别的速度在中央窝和中央窝之间是不同的:一项结合脑电图和行为的研究。
尽管我们对同质视觉有着生动的体验,但我们的视觉系统天生就具有高度的非同质结构。尽管视觉反应的时间特征随偏心率而变化,但这种变化、视觉处理速度及其潜在的神经生理机制之间的联系仍然是一个有争议的话题。在这里,我们同时记录高精度凝视位置和脑电图活动,以研究中央凹和中央凹周围刺激如何影响反应时间(RTs)和视觉诱发电位(vep)。志愿者们分辨出一个u形人物的位置和方向,这个u形人物的光圈是朝上还是朝下。在注视点的右侧或左侧的中央凹(0.33◦)或中心凹周围(6.5◦)进行短暂(50 ms)刺激。根据皮质放大系数调整窝周状态下的刺激大小(刺激大小:中央窝和窝周分别为0.2◦和0.75◦)。当刺激的敏感性和刺激的皮质面积相等时,我们观察到与中央凹相比,凹周条件下的RTs更快(16.8±4 ms)。对VEP的分析显示,N1反应(11.0±4 ms)也有类似的效果,N1反应是一个与判别加工相关的顶叶-枕部成分,受空间注意的影响。总的来说,我们的研究结果表明,视觉辨别速度因偏心而异,与中央凹相比,中心凹周围的早期视觉反应处理速度更快,延迟时间更短。本研究探讨视觉处理速度随偏心率的变化。通过记录高精度的注视位置和脑电图活动,我们要求志愿者辨别一个u形图形的方向,该图形是在中央凹处或周围凹处短暂呈现的。我们发现,与中央凹呈现的视觉刺激相比,中央凹周围呈现的视觉刺激导致更快的反应时间和更短的视觉诱发电位。特别是,裂孔周围刺激的反应时间快了16.8±4 ms,在N1 VEP成分中观察到类似的效果(11.0±4 ms)。这些发现表明,早期的视觉处理在眼周更快,突出了视网膜上有效的时间不均匀性的存在。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
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来源期刊
eNeuro
eNeuro Neuroscience-General Neuroscience
CiteScore
5.00
自引率
2.90%
发文量
486
审稿时长
16 weeks
期刊介绍: An open-access journal from the Society for Neuroscience, eNeuro publishes high-quality, broad-based, peer-reviewed research focused solely on the field of neuroscience. eNeuro embodies an emerging scientific vision that offers a new experience for authors and readers, all in support of the Society’s mission to advance understanding of the brain and nervous system.
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