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Updated: Jun 2, 2026
09:42
Stimulus-specific Cortical Visual Evoked Potential Morphological Patterns
Published on: May 12, 2019
Serial dependencies for externally and self-generated stimuli
Clara Fritz1,2, Antonella Pomè1,3, Eckart Zimmermann1,4
1Institute for Experimental Psychology, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany.
Journal of Vision
|October 3, 2024
Summary
Sensory attenuation, a reduction in sensation from self-movement, is influenced by prior experiences (serial dependencies). This study reveals how temporal predictability and self-generated stimuli impact these effects.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Psychology
- Sensory Perception
Background:
- Our senses process constant external stimulation, including that from self-generated movement.
- Sensations from self-movement are typically attenuated, meaning they are perceived as weaker.
- Interpretation of current sensory input is shaped by past experiences, a phenomenon known as serial dependency.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the interaction between sensory attenuation and serial dependencies.
- To determine how temporal predictability influences sensory attenuation.
- To examine the impact of self-generated versus externally generated stimuli on serial dependencies.
Main Methods:
- Experiment 1: Assessed sensory attenuation under conditions of temporal predictability.
- Experiment 2: Investigated temporal predictability's role in visuospatial localization and its effect on serial dependencies with attenuated stimuli.
- Experiment 3: Compared serial dependencies for self-generated (button press) versus externally generated stimuli in a localization task.
Main Results:
- Temporal predictability was found to cause sensory attenuation.
- Attenuated stimuli were subject to serial dependency effects, with stronger effects when previous trial certainty was high.
- Self-generated trials showed stronger serial dependencies than externally generated trials when presented alternately, but not in blocked conditions.
Conclusions:
- Sensory attenuation and serial dependencies interact dynamically.
- The relative uncertainty between successive sensory trials is a key determinant of serial dependency strength.
- Understanding these interactions provides insight into how the brain processes self-generated versus external sensory information.
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