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Updated: Mar 19, 2026
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Investigating the Deployment of Visual Attention Before Accurate and Averaging Saccades via Eye Tracking and Assessment of Visual Sensitivity
Published on: March 18, 2019
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Perisaccadic perception of flashing stimulus: Spatial and temporal aspects.
Rytis Stanikunas1, Remigijus Bliumas1, Karolina Jocbalyte1
1Institute of Psychology, Vilnius University, Lithuania.
Perception
|March 18, 2026
Summary
Investigating phantom array perception, this study found that the perceived number and length of light dashes are compressed. Dash length perception remained accurate, suggesting a two-stage visual processing mechanism.
Area of Science:
- Visual perception
- Neuroscience
- Ophthalmology
Background:
- The phantom array phenomenon occurs when the eye moves through flashing light, creating a perceived line of light dashes.
- Understanding how visual perception is affected by stimulus frequency and eye movement is crucial for visual neuroscience.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between light stimulus frequency and the spatial-temporal characteristics of the phantom array.
- To determine how variations in flashing frequency impact the perception of dash number, length, and overall phantom array length.
Main Methods:
- Participants performed a 40° saccade across a flashing light stimulus.
- Stimulus flashing frequencies ranged randomly from 50 Hz to 3.5 kHz.
- Observers reported the perceived start and end of the phantom array, individual dash length, and the total number of perceived dashes.
Main Results:
- The perceived number of dashes and the total perceived length of the phantom array were significantly shorter than the physical stimulation.
- The perceived length of individual dashes matched the physically projected length on the retina.
- Results indicate a discrepancy between physical stimulus properties and subjective visual experience.
Conclusions:
- Phantom array perception appears to involve a two-stage process.
- This process includes an initial stage of 'number compression' followed by information processing potentially involving quantum mechanisms.
- The findings offer insights into the neural mechanisms underlying visual perception during eye movements.
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