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要旨:
Both backward masking and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) are capable of hindering perception of a visual target. To study the relationship between these two methods we applied TMS over the occipital pole in combination with the recently discovered weak visual backward masking technique shine-through. In three subjects we determined discrimination thresholds for vernier acuity by means of a 2AFC task. The time course of target processing was investigated by varying the stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) of TMS for an unmasked vernier target. Vernier offset discrimination deteriorates moderately around 120 ms TMS SOA. If in addition to TMS the vernier is backward-masked, discrimination of the vernier offset is completely abolished. Therefore, TMS and backward masking can interact in a non-linear manner, strongly interfering with early visual processing.
