Somatosensory properties of neurons in the superior parietal cortex (area 5) of the rhesus monkey.

How do people judge the order of two nearly simultaneous stimuli, such as a light and a tone? We consider this question in the context of a general independent-channels model that incorporates most existing models of order perception as special cases, and which has been implicitly assumed when temporal-order judgments are used to study perceptual latency. In the model, a "decision function" converts a difference in central "arrival times" of two sensory signals into an order judgment. The psychometric function for order is regarded as a distribution function, and can be represented additively in terms of the central arrival latencies and the decision function. Various distinct decision functions correspond to various previously proposed mechanisms involving a "perceptual moment," attention switching, a threshold for arrival-time dif­ ferences, and so forth (Section II). One test of the model is to compare reaction-time measurements with order judgments (Section III). Discrepancies can be understood by an analysis of the concept of perceptual latency that recognizes the internal response to a pulse as being spread out in time (Section IV). IA glossary of symbols and abbreviations may be found at the end of the text.

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The Perception of Temporal Order: Fundamental Issues and a General Model

SINGLE nerve cells of the visual cortex of the cat can respond to stimuli in other modalities1–11, but the physiological role of such excitation is not understood. Many investigators consider that this activation reflects generalized arousal12–15. In this report I present evidence of a rigorous spatial specificity in the acoustical projection to visual neurones.

David Bliss

Papers

Auditory, somatic sensory, and visual response interactions and interrelations in association and primary cortical fields of the cat.