Volume 8, Number 1, Article 15, Pages 1-11 doi:10.1167/8.1.15 http://journalofvision.org/8/1/15/ ISSN 1534-7362
Influence of adaptation state and stimulus luminance on peri-saccadic localization
Katharina Georg
General Psychology, Department of Psychology II, Westfälische Wilhelms-University, Münster, Germany
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Fred H. Hamker
General Psychology, Department of Psychology II, Westfälische Wilhelms-University, Münster, Germany
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Markus Lappe
General Psychology, Department of Psychology II, Westfälische Wilhelms-University, Münster, Germany
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Abstract

Spatial localization of flashed stimuli across saccades shows transient distortions of perceived position: Stimuli appear shifted in saccade direction and compressed towards the saccade target. The strength and spatial pattern of this mislocalization is influenced by contrast, duration, and spatial and temporal arrangement of stimuli and background. Because mislocalization of stimuli on a background depends on contrast, we asked whether mislocalization of stimuli in darkness depends on luminance. Since dark adaptation changes luminance thresholds, we compared mislocalization in dark-adapted and light-adapted states. Peri-saccadic mislocalization was measured with near-threshold stimuli and above-threshold stimuli in dark-adapted and light-adapted subjects. In both adaptation states, near-threshold stimuli gave much larger mislocalization than above-threshold stimuli. Furthermore, when the stimulus was presented near-threshold, the perceived positions of the stimuli clustered closer together. Stimulus luminance that produced strong mislocalization in the light-adapted state produced very little mislocalization in the dark-adapted state because it was now well above threshold. We conclude that the strength of peri-saccadic mislocalization depends on the strength of the stimulus: Stimuli with near-threshold luminance, and hence low visibility, are more mislocalized than clearly visible stimuli with high luminance.

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History
Received March 1, 2007; published January 22, 2008
Citation
Georg, K., Hamker, F. H., & Lappe, M. (2008). Influence of adaptation state and stimulus luminance on peri-saccadic localization. Journal of Vision, 8(1):15, 1-11, http://journalofvision.org/8/1/15/, doi:10.1167/8.1.15.
Keywords
saccade, localization, luminance, dark adaptation
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