Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Optimal Arousal Theory01:23

Optimal Arousal Theory

998
The optimal arousal theory suggests that performance is maximized when an individual experiences a moderate level of arousal. This theory is closely tied to the Yerkes-Dodson law, which illustrates an inverted U-shaped relationship between arousal and performance. The law, formulated by psychologists Robert Yerkes and John Dodson, implies an ideal arousal level for optimal performance, and deviations from this level can lead to declines in effectiveness.
Inverted U-Shaped Performance Curve
The...
998
Factors Affecting Perception01:25

Factors Affecting Perception

3.0K
Perception is influenced by perceptual set, context, motivation, and emotion. Perceptual set, or perceptual expectancy, refers to the tendency to perceive things in a particular way, influenced by previous experiences and expectations. This phenomenon affects the interpretation of stimuli, creating a set of mental tendencies and assumptions that impact sensory perceptions of sound, taste, touch, and sight.
An illustrative example of a perceptual set is the scenario where an airline pilot told...
3.0K
Color Vision01:24

Color Vision

1.8K
Color perception begins in the retina, the light-sensitive layer at the back of the eye. Two main theories explain how colors are seen: the trichromatic theory and the opponent-process theory. The trichromatic theory, proposed by Thomas Young in 1802 and extended by Hermann von Helmholtz in 1852, suggests that color vision is based on three types of cone receptors in the retina. These cones are sensitive to different but overlapping ranges of wavelengths corresponding to red, blue, and green.
1.8K
Social Facilitation01:04

Social Facilitation

36.7K
Not all intergroup interactions lead to negative outcomes. Sometimes, being in a group situation can improve performance. Social facilitation occurs when an individual performs better when an audience is watching than when the individual performs the behavior alone. This typically occurs when people are performing a task for which they are skilled.
36.7K
Altered States of Awareness01:06

Altered States of Awareness

1.3K
Altered states of consciousness represent significant deviations from one's normal mental state. These deviations can range from subtle changes in awareness to profound transformations in perception, thought processes, and sensory experiences. Altered states of consciousness can be triggered by various factors, including drug use, meditation, hypnosis, illness, or even intense fatigue.
The ingestion of substances like stimulants or hallucinogens leads to chemical alterations in the brain...
1.3K
Perceptual Constancy01:12

Perceptual Constancy

1.7K
Perceptual constancy is the ability to recognize that objects remain consistent and unchanged even when their appearance varies due to changes in sensory input. There are four main types of perceptual constancy: size constancy, shape constancy, color constancy, and brightness constancy.
Size constancy is the recognition that an object remains the same size, even when its image on the retina changes. For instance, a bus is perceived to be large enough to carry people, even if it looks tiny from...
1.7K

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Real-time Observation of Structural Dynamics Triggering Excimer Formation in a Perylene Bisimide Folda-dimer by Ultrafast Time-Domain Raman Spectroscopy.

Angewandte Chemie (International ed. in English)·2022
Same author

Aberrant Methylation of <i>SLIT2</i> Gene in Plasma Cell-Free DNA of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Patients.

Cancers·2022
Same author

Modulations of a Metal-Ligand Interaction and Photophysical Behaviors by Hückel-Möbius Aromatic Switching.

Journal of the American Chemical Society·2021
Same author

Tuning Hot Carrier Dynamics of InP/ZnSe/ZnS Quantum Dots by Shell Morphology Control.

Small (Weinheim an der Bergstrasse, Germany)·2021
Same author

Porphyrinoids, a unique platform for exploring excited-state aromaticity.

Chemical Society reviews·2021
Same author

Herpesviruses assimilate kinesin to produce motorized viral particles.

Nature·2021
Same journal

Analysis of human visual experience data.

Journal of vision·2026
Same journal

Pyramid-based Bayesian modeling for high-resolution behavioral analysis.

Journal of vision·2026
Same journal

Sensation without perception: The white whale effect and perceptual blindness in autonomous vehicles.

Journal of vision·2026
Same journal

Gaze behavior during closed-captioned movie viewing adapts to absent audio through more frequent switching between text and scene.

Journal of vision·2026
Same journal

In pursuit of saccade awareness: Limited volitional control and minimal conscious access to catch-up saccades during smooth pursuit eye movements.

Journal of vision·2026
Same journal

Dissociable effects of element-lifetime and stimulus-duration on local and global motion processing: An equivalent noise study.

Journal of vision·2026
See all related articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Mar 7, 2026

Development of a Gaze-Contingent Display Framework Designed for Perceptual and Oculomotor Research with Simulated Central Vision Loss
07:12

Development of a Gaze-Contingent Display Framework Designed for Perceptual and Oculomotor Research with Simulated Central Vision Loss

Published on: April 11, 2025

1.0K

Elevated arousal levels enhance contrast perception.

Dongho Kim1, Savannah Lokey2, Sam Ling3

  • 1Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA, USAdhkim15@gmail.com.

Journal of Vision
|March 1, 2017
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Elevated arousal enhances visual sensitivity, improving contrast perception. Decreased arousal impairs visual processing, affecting how we see our environment.

More Related Videos

Measuring Attention and Visual Processing Speed by Model-based Analysis of Temporal-order Judgments
13:00

Measuring Attention and Visual Processing Speed by Model-based Analysis of Temporal-order Judgments

Published on: January 23, 2017

10.4K
Assessing Pupil-linked Changes in Locus Coeruleus-mediated Arousal Elicited by Trigeminal Stimulation
07:26

Assessing Pupil-linked Changes in Locus Coeruleus-mediated Arousal Elicited by Trigeminal Stimulation

Published on: November 26, 2019

8.7K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Mar 7, 2026

Development of a Gaze-Contingent Display Framework Designed for Perceptual and Oculomotor Research with Simulated Central Vision Loss
07:12

Development of a Gaze-Contingent Display Framework Designed for Perceptual and Oculomotor Research with Simulated Central Vision Loss

Published on: April 11, 2025

1.0K
Measuring Attention and Visual Processing Speed by Model-based Analysis of Temporal-order Judgments
13:00

Measuring Attention and Visual Processing Speed by Model-based Analysis of Temporal-order Judgments

Published on: January 23, 2017

10.4K
Assessing Pupil-linked Changes in Locus Coeruleus-mediated Arousal Elicited by Trigeminal Stimulation
07:26

Assessing Pupil-linked Changes in Locus Coeruleus-mediated Arousal Elicited by Trigeminal Stimulation

Published on: November 26, 2019

8.7K

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Visual Perception
  • Cognitive Psychology

Background:

  • Arousal significantly influences brain functions like perception, memory, and decision-making.
  • The precise mechanisms by which arousal modulates behavior are not fully understood.
  • Understanding arousal's role is crucial for explaining behavioral variability.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the modulatory effect of arousal on contrast perception.
  • To elucidate how arousal state impacts visual sensitivity.

Main Methods:

  • A reward-driven paradigm was employed to manipulate participants' arousal states.
  • Contrast perception was measured to quantify visual sensitivity.

Main Results:

  • Increased arousal state led to a significant enhancement in visual sensitivity.
  • This enhancement was characterized by a multiplicative modulation of the contrast response function.
  • Lowered arousal states were associated with impaired visual processing.

Conclusions:

  • Arousal state plays a critical role in modulating visual perception, specifically contrast sensitivity.
  • Changes in arousal can alter the efficiency of visual information processing.
  • These findings highlight the impact of arousal on our ability to perceive the environment.