RELATION OF PHENOMENAL BRIGHTNESS REVERSAL AND RE-REVERSAL TO BACKWARD MASKING AND RECOVERY

Three recent experiments have demonstrated that a visual target suppressed through backward masking can be recovered by the introduction of a second mask. Present theories of backward masking cannot account for this since they assume that a masked target has no representation in the visual system. Amechanism is suggested to account for both visual backward masking and recovery in terms of lateral inhibition. Experimental evidenc e is offered in support of the hypothesized mechanism. © 1968 Psychonomic Society, Inc.