Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 23, 2025

How to Find Effects of Stimulus Processing on Event Related Brain Potentials of Close Others when Hyperscanning Partners
Published on: May 31, 2018
Learning Modulates Early Encephalographic Responses to Distracting Stimuli: A Combined SSVEP and ERP Study
Dock H Duncan1,2, Norman Forschack3, Dirk van Moorselaar4,2
1Department of Experimental and Applied Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands d.h.duncan@vu.nl.
Abstract:
Through experience, humans can learn to suppress locations that frequently contain distracting stimuli. However, the neural mechanism underlying learned suppression remains largely unknown. In this study, we combined steady-state visually evoked potentials (SSVEPs) with event-related potentials (ERPs) to investigate the mechanism behind statistically learned spatial suppression. Twenty-four male and female human participants performed a version of the additional singleton search task in which one location contained a distractor stimulus frequently. The search stimuli constantly flickered on-and-off the screen, resulting in steady-state entrainment. Prior to search onset, no differences in the SSVEP response were found, though a post hoc analysis did reveal proactive alpha lateralization. Following search onset, clear evoked differences in both the SSVEP and ERP signals emerged at the suppressed location relative to all other locations. Crucially, the early timing of these evoked modulations suggests that learned distractor suppression occurs at the initial stages of visual processing.

