Continuous flash suppression operates in local spatial zones: Effects of mask size and contrast

Abstract

Continuous flash suppression (CFS) is a technique in which presenting one eye with a dynamic Mondrian sequence prevents a low-contrast target in the other eye from being perceived for many seconds. Frequently used to study unconscious visual processing, CFS bears many similarities with binocular rivalry (BR), another popular dichoptic stimulation technique. It is therefore puzzling that the effect of mask size and contrast seem to differ between CFS and BR. To resolve this discrepancy, we conducted a systematic investigation on the effects of mask size and contrast in CFS. Also, building on findings from BR, we asked if the collinearity of the contours in the Mondrian masker play a role in CFS suppression. Our results showed a robust effect of mask contrast on suppression durations, and an effect of mask size that depended on collinearity. Specifically, higher mask contrasts produced longer suppression regardless of collinearity and mask size. Mask size, on the other hand, had little effect on suppression when collinearity was low and it weakened suppression when collinearity is high. These observations parallel prior findings in BR, further substantiating the close link between the two paradigms and demonstrating the usefulness of a shared explanatory framework describing both phenomena.

Keywords: Binocular rivalry; Continuous flash suppression; Surround suppression; Unconscious visual processing.