Spatial distribution of the inhibitory effect of peripheral non-informative cues on simple reaction time to non-fixated visual targets

Abstract

It is known that reaction time (RT) for the detection of a light target at extrafoveal locations is lengthened by a previous non-informative light cue at the same location. We describe an additional inhibitory effect from cues remote from the target but occurring within the same lateral or altitudinal visual hemifield. Subjects made a speeded key-press response to the second of two successive light flashes in a pair while maintaining fixation. Each of the two flashes could appear at random in one of four positions, two in the right and two in the left visual fields, or two in the upper and two in the lower visual fields. We found an RT prolongation not only for cued over uncued positions, but also for within-field non-coincident cue-target pairs over between-fields cue-target pairs. The within-field inhibitory effect, though smaller than the same-location effect, was fully apparent even when the target occurred at 1 degree of visual angle from the midline and at 29 degrees from the cue. Both effects were seen with cue-target asynchronies ranging from 0.2 to 1.5 sec. The results are relevant to the understanding of the neural mechanisms for covert shifts of attention across the main meridians of the visual field.