Temporal And Spatial Perceptual Learning Modulates The Strength Of Spatiotemporal Interference

Time and space are fundamental properties of material existence in the world,and they are inextricably linked and interfere with each other.The spatiotemporal interference provides a window to understand the neural representation of temporal and spatial information..As a classical spatiotemporal interference,the Kappa effect is a phenomenon in which an individual’s perception of time is disturbed by spatial information in the environment,i.e.,the individual systematically distorts the time interval between stimuli because of the spatial distance between them.Many researchers have proposed different theories to explain the Kappa effect based on the speed of attribution hypothesis and the Bayesian model.On this basis,researchers have found that temporal perceptual uncertainty interferes with the Kappa effect from a modeling perspective,and in addition,studies have found that the strength of the Kappa effect varies under different sensory channel conditions.That is,temporal uncertainty has been suggested to be an influential factor in temporal interference,but these ideas still lack experimental evidence.The present study used a pretest-training-posttest experimental design to investigate the relationship between spatiotemporal uncertainty and spatiotemporal interference.Experiment 1explored the effect of temporal perceptual uncertainty on the strength of the Kappa effect.Subjects in this group were required to complete a Kappa effect task in both the pretest and posttest,specifically a temporal discrimination task that contained spatial information.The experimental set of stimuli was two small circles blinking at the same level but at different locations,with a time interval of 0.5s or 1s between the circles and a spatial distance of 1,2,4,8,16,or 32°.The standard stimulus was a random combination of these two-time intervals and six spatial distances.The comparison stimuli followed a stepwise method that would vary with the subjects’ judgments as well as the standard stimuli.The experiment required subjects to ignore the spatial distances presented between the two sets of stimuli but to remember the time interval and subsequently determine by keystrokes who was longer between the standard and comparison intervals.In the training phase,subjects would complete the temporal discrimination task for four consecutive days,and this phase of the experiment did not contain spatial information,i.e.,the stimuli presented in the experiment all flashed at the same location,and the standard time interval was still 0.5s or 1s.Subjects were still asked to judge who had the longer time interval between the standard stimulus and the comparison stimulus.The analysis of experimental data using a linear mixed model(LMM)for performing Kappa effect reveals that PSE increases with increasing distance after logarithmization in the pretest,and PSE does not change with distance in the post-test.This result indicates that there is a Kappa effect in the pretest,while the Kappa effect disappears in the post-test.Analysis of the data from the four temporal training sessions using the LMM revealed that the subjects’ temporal perceptual uncertainty decreased,although not significantly.These results suggest that after temporal training,subjects’ temporal perceptual uncertainty tended to decrease but did not reach a significant level,while the effect of spatial information on temporal perception(strength of the kappa effect)decreased significantly.Experiment 2 explored the effect of spatial perceptual uncertainty on the strength of the kappa effect.The pretest and posttest were identical to Experiment 1,requiring subjects to complete the Kappa effect task,while the training phase differed in that subjects were asked to perform a spatial discrimination task.In this training task,the time interval between the standard and comparison stimuli was the same,and the difference was the spatial distance between the two small circles,and subjects needed to remember the spatial distance between the two sets of stimuli and judge which set was longer.LMM results found that the degree of difference in PSE with distance in the pretest and post-test of subjects only reached borderline significant,and after four spatial training sessions,the difference in spatial perceptual uncertainty was not significant.This result indicates that after spatial perceptual learning,there was no significant change in subjects’ spatial perceptual uncertainty or the degree of influence of spatial information on individual temporal perception.The control group in Experiment 3 did not receive any treatment between the pretest and post-test.LMM results found that the Kappa effect was present in both the preside and post-test,but the strength of the Kappa effect in the pretest was slightly stronger than that of the Kappa effect in the post-test.To further investigate how perceptual learning changes the effect of spatial information on temporal perception,data from the three experiments were jointly analyzed using a Bayesian model of the Kappa effect.It was found that subjects who had undergone temporal perceptual learning had suppressed spatial processing,which led to increased spatial uncertainty,thus reducing the interference of spatial information on individual temporal perception,and the strength of the Kappa effect was reduced;subjects who had undergone spatial perceptual learning had suppressed temporal processing,which led to increased temporal uncertainty,making temporal perception more susceptible to interference of spatial information,resulting in The strength of the Kappa effect increased.Our study explored the effect of temporal uncertainty on temporal interference by using a series of behavioral experiments,and the results confirmed the validity of the LCM and supported A theory of magnitude’s view that temporal information is integrated into a representation according to Bayes’ law.Our results not only provide experimental evidence that uncertainty in spatiotemporal information is a key factor influencing spatiotemporal interference,but also demonstrate the importance of studying the inhibitory function of perceptual learning for cognition and behavior.In addition,the present study provides evidence that temporal and spatial processing uncertainty is an influential factor in the strength of the spatiotemporal interference effect,and also confirms that the kappa effect can be enhanced and attenuated by training.The findings can be applied to industries that require precise processing of spatiotemporal information,such as aerospace,automobile driving,and sports.