A choice reaction time analysis of spatial frequency discrimination.

Simple reaction time to the onset of sinewave gratings was measured as a function of spatial frequency in two observers. These results are compared to the choice reaction time required for the observer to correctly discriminate the spatial frequency of two gratings flashed sequentially. Grating contrast was either 0.75 or 1.5 logarithmic units above the detection threshold for each spatial frequency tested. The spatial phase and contrast of the reference and test gratings were varied from trial to trial by small random amounts to eliminate fixed cues other than the difference frequency. The spatial frequency difference between the reference and test grating was either 0.125, 0.25 or 0.5 octave. As has been earlier reported, simple reaction time increases with increasing spatial frequency. Contrary to this, choice reaction time first increases (up to 4 c/deg) and then decreases. We derived the time required by the observer to make a spatial frequency judgment by subtracting the simple reaction time from the choice reaction time for a given spatial frequency and contrast. The maximum decision time occurs in the medium spatial frequency range (between 1 and 4 c/deg), at which frequencies we are most sensitive. The time required to make a correct spatial-frequency discrimination decreases with increasing spatial-frequency difference. The decision time is, however, fairly invariant over a large range of suprathreshold contrast levels. The findings suggest that the decision time for spatial frequency discrimination increases with the number of mechanisms involved.