Efficiency of Recognition in Left and Right Visual Fields

Abstract

Introduction The process by which an existing sensation disappears (or a stimulus becomes imperceptible) when another sensation is evoked by simultaneous stimulation elsewhere in the sensory field has attracted considerable interest. The phenomenon has been variously named "inattention," "repression," "suppression," and "extinction," depending on the different theoretical explanations advanced for its occurrence. The clinical literature relevant to this subject has been reviewed by Bender,¹ Critchley,² and Teuber,³ among others, while Livingstone⁴ has recently considered the neurophysiological aspects of the phenomenon. Some authors (e.g., Bender¹) consider this phenomenon as inherent in every sensory process. They claim that with appropriate techniques it is demonstrable in all normal individuals, but only becomes conspicuous in patients with certain types of neurological disorders. Certainly the recent neurophysiological studies (see Livingstone⁴) would seem to bear this out. In the case of visual perception, however, reports of extinction during simultaneous stimulation