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Updated: Jun 3, 2026
09:27
Eye Movements in Visual Duration Perception: Disentangling Stimulus from Time in Predecisional Processes
Published on: January 19, 2024
Delayed perceptual awareness in rapid perceptual decisions
Regina Gregori-Grgič1, Monica Balderi, Claudio de'Sperati
1Visuo-Motor Functions Lab, Univeristà Vita-Salute San Raffaele, Milano, Italy.
Plos One
|March 8, 2011
Summary
Perceptual decisions about motion develop before conscious awareness. This suggests conscious perception builds upon, rather than precedes, early decision-making processes in the brain.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Psychology
- Visual Perception
Background:
- Understanding the relationship between perceptual decisions and conscious awareness is crucial for studying the neural basis of decision-making.
- Previous research highlights the complexity of visual motion perception and its neural underpinnings.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the temporal dynamics of motion discrimination capability and perceptual awareness.
- To determine the relationship between the buildup of perceptual decisions and conscious perception.
Main Methods:
- Utilizing noisy motion stimuli with long integration times to assess motion direction discrimination.
- Employing speeded decisions and direct trial-by-trial ratings to measure perceptual awareness.
- Analyzing the influence of motion coherence and viewing time on both discrimination and awareness.
Main Results:
- Both motion discrimination and perceptual awareness increased with motion coherence and viewing time.
- Perceptual discrimination capability systematically preceded and plateaued earlier than perceptual awareness.
- Changes in sensitivity and criterion jointly contributed to the gradual development of awareness.
Conclusions:
- Conscious perception appears to emerge subsequent to the development of perceptual decisions.
- The middle temporal (MT) cortical region may be a precursor stage, not the sole determinant, of subjective visual motion perception.
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