Rules governing perception of multiple phosphenes by human observers
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Abstract Stimulation of single sites in primary visual cortex results in the perception of a small flash of light known as a phosphene. Little is known about how phosphenes from multiple electrodes can be combined to form perception of coherent patterns. Here we examine the percepts reported by human observers as various spatial configurations of 2 to 5 electrodes in visual cortex were stimulated simultaneously. When two electrodes were stimulated simultaneously, subjects reliably perceived either one or two phosphenes depending on the physical distance separating the electrodes. In cases where two phosphenes were perceived, they were located in the same visual field location as when the two electrodes were stimulated separately. Adding a third electrode produced similar results. In several subjects, we obtained combination of 4 to 5 electrodes that generated individual phosphenes when stimulated concurrently. Subjects were able to reliably discriminate between different multiple electrode stimulation patterns that were presented in random order. These results demonstrate that simple pattern information can be conveyed to subjects with surface electrodes spaced at millimeters apart on the cortex.
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When multiple electrodes are stimulated simultaneously, phosphenes tend to merge together in complex ways.
“However, it is not typically that simple: when multiple electrodes are stimulated simultaneously, phosphenes tend to merge together in complex ways (Bosking et al. 2018; Rizzo et al. 2003; Horsager et al. 2011; Horsager, Greenberg, and Fine 2010; Wilke et al. 2011).”
From Sequential epiretinal stimulation improves discrimination in simple shape discrimination tasks only (2022) · cites this paper as Bosking et al. 2018
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- Authors
- Bosking, W., Foster, B., Sun, P., Beauchamp, M., & Yoshor, D.
- Affiliations
- Baylor College of Medicine (US)
- Venue
- bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)
- Publisher
- openRxiv
- Published
- 2018-04-17
- OpenAlex
- W2796900346
- Cited by
- 11
- References
- 34
- Citations by year
- 2025: 2 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 1 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 1
- Type
- posted content
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- doi.org
- Licence
- cc-by-nc-nd
- Locations
- bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) (acceptedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- Funders
- National Institutes of Health
- National Institute of Mental Health (R00MH103479)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neuroscience and Neural Engineering
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Visual perception and processing mechanisms
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Tactile and Sensory Interactions
- Keywords
- phosphenes, primary visual cortex, visual perception, pattern perception, electrode spacing, visual cortex mapping, perceptual discrimination, non-invasive brain stimulation
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