Metacontrast masking is ineffective in the first 6  months of life

Cognition. 2023 Nov 18;242:105666. doi: 10.1016/j.cognition.2023.105666. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTMetacontrast masking is one of the most widely studied types of visual masking, in which a visual stimulus is rendered invisible by a subsequent mask that does not spatially overlap with the target. Metacontrast has been used for many decades as a tool to study visual processing and conscious perception in adults. However, there are so far no infant studies on metacontrast and it remains unknown even whether it occurs in infants. The present study examined metacontrast masking in 3- to 8-month-old infants (N = 168) using a habituation paradigm. We found that metacontrast is ineffective for infants under 7 months and that younger infants can perceive a masked stimulus that older infants cannot. Our results suggest that metacontrast is distinct from other simple types of masking that occur in early infancy, and would be consistent with the idea that metacontrast results from the disruption of recurrent processing.PMID:37984131 | DOI:10.1016/j.cognition.2023.105666

Source: Cognition - November 20, 2023 Category: Neurology Authors: Yusuke Nakashima So Kanazawa Masami K Yamaguchi Source Type: research