Central performance drop in texture segmentation: the role of spatial and temporal factors

Previous studies reported that performance in texture segmentation was lower near the fovea than in the periphery. However, the exact cause of this phenomenon had been unknown. Experiment 1 replicated the central performance drop (CPD). Experiments 2 and 3 demonstrated that the previously reported CPD was due to a temporal factor, i.e. slower neural processing in central vision, rather than a spatial factor. But Experiments 4 and 5 showed that certain textures can lead to a purely spatial form of CPD due to inhibition and/or interference from high spatial frequency mechanisms in central vision. This study showed that, depending on textures, CPD can arise from either temporal or spatial causes.