Two Visual Training Paradigms Associated with Enhanced Critical Flicker Fusion Threshold.
Critical flicker fusion thresholds (CFFTs) describe when quick amplitude modulations of a light source become undetectable as the frequency of the modulation increases and are thought to underlie a number of visual processing skills, including reading. Here, we compare the impact of two vision-training approaches, one involving contrast sensitivity training and the other directional dot-motion training, compared to an active control group trained on Sudoku. The three training paradigms were compared on their effectiveness for altering CFFT. Directional dot-motion and contrast sensitivity training resulted in significant improvement in CFFT, while the Sudoku group did not yield significant improvement. This finding indicates that dot-motion and contrast sensitivity training similarly transfer to effect changes in CFFT. The results, combined with prior research linking CFFT to high-order cognitive processes such as reading ability, and studies showing positive impact of both dot-motion and contrast sensitivity training in reading, provide a possible mechanistic link of how these different training approaches impact reading abilities.
College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Arizona State University, Glendale AZ, USA.
Tianyou
T
Zhou
College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Arizona State University, Glendale AZ, USA.
Jose E
JE
Náñez
College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Arizona State University, Glendale AZ, USA.
Daniel
D
Zimmerman
College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Arizona State University, Glendale AZ, USA.
Steven R
SR
Holloway
Department of Psychology, University of California, Riverside, Riverside CA, USA.
Aaron
A
Seitz
CFFT; ULTIMEYES; contrast sensitivity training; directional dot-motion; reading; visual perceptual learning