Perceptual Support for Temporal Normalization Across Hundreds of Milliseconds

Abstract

Perception across time is limited: phenomena like masking and temporal crowding reveal perceptual interference between sequential stimuli, even when separated by hundreds of milliseconds. However the underlying causes of these suppressive temporal interactions remain unclear. A potential explanatory mechanism is temporal normalization, a form of divisive suppression proposed to operate across time in the visual cortex, but largely untested behaviorally. Here in three experiments we tested a key perceptual prediction of temporal normalization: contrast-dependent suppression between sequential stimuli. By independently manipulating the contrasts of two sequential gratings presented 250 ms apart, we found that perceptual sensitivity to a targets orientation decreased when a high-vs. low-contrast non-target appeared either before or after it. Reduced sensitivity arose from both decreased orientation precision and increased "swapping" errors. The results provide perceptual support for a temporal normalization computation operating across hundreds of milliseconds, offering a theoretical framework for perceptual limits across time. Public significance statementTemporal context strongly affects perception, but a general theoretical framework that captures such effects is lacking. Neural studies support the existence of temporal normalization, the divisive suppression of information across time. However the behavioral impact of temporal normalization on perception remains unclear. Here we tested a key behavioral prediction of temporal normalization: contrast-dependant suppression between sequential stimuli. We found evidence for such suppression across hundreds of milliseconds both forward and backward in time. Our results provide perceptual evidence for temporal normalization, linking neural data to behavior, and support a theoretical framework that could bridge a range of temporal phenomena such as visual masking, adaptation, and temporal crowding.