6533b7dbfe1ef96bd1270178

RESEARCH PRODUCT

Sensitivity of a sensory process to short time delays: A study in pattern induced flicker colors (PIFCs)

subject

description

Pattern induced flicker colors (PIFCs) were generated by means of a modified version of Benham's top, the stimulus pattern of which could be varied continuously during stimulation by the human subjects. The sensitivity of the color sensation to small phase shifts between the periodic stimuli on neighboring retinal areas was recorded under several conditions of stimulus parameters. A mathematical model was developed to describe the influence of the stimulus parameters on the recorded sensory effect. Concerning the underlying neurophysiological processes, a hypothesis is advanced according to which the phase sensitive lateral interaction within the retina changes the spatial excitation distribution within color coding receptive fields of the retinal ganglion cells. The resulting ganglion cell excitation is supposed to generate PIFCs.