Metacontrast masking is ineffective in the first 6 months of life

Bibliographic Data

ID21305698
AuthorsYusuke Nakashima (0000-0003-3674-0062, Chuo University, corresponding author), So Kanazawa (Japan Women's University), Masami K Yamaguchi (0000-0001-5521-061X, Chuo University)
Year2024
Volume242
Pages105666
Publication date2024-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueCognition (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0010-0277 • E-ISSN: 1873-7838
PublisherElsevier BV (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1016/j.cognition.2023.105666
PMID37984131
OpenAlexW4388793413
LanguageEN
References cited62

Metacontrast 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

Backward masking · Cognitive psychology · Developmental psychology · Habituation · Masking (illustration) · Perception · Stimulus (psychology) · Stimulus onset asynchrony · Visual attention · Visual masking · Visual perception · Communication · Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies · Neural dynamics and brain function · Neuroscience · Psychology · Visual perception and processing mechanisms

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