Scientific article
OA Policy
English

An LCD tachistoscope with submillisecond precision

Published inBehavior research methods, instruments, & computers, vol. 45, no. 4, p. 1347-1357
Collection
  • Open Access - Licence nationale Springer
Publication date2013
Abstract

Tachistoscopes allow brief visual stimulation delivery, which is crucial for experiments in which subliminal presentation is required. Up to now, tachistoscopes have had shortcomings with respect to timing accuracy, reliability, and flexibility of use. Here, we present a new and inexpensive two-channel tachistoscope that allows for exposure durations in the submillisecond range with an extremely high timing accuracy. The tachistoscope consists of two standard liquid-crystal display (LCD) monitors of the light-emitting diode (LED) backlight type, a semipermeable mirror, a mounting rack, and an experimental personal computer (PC). The monitors have been modified to provide external access to the LED backlights, which are controlled by the PC via the standard parallel port. Photodiode measurements confirmed reliable operation of the tachistoscope and revealed switching times of 3 μs. Our method may also be of great advantage in single-monitor setups, in which it allows for manipulating the stimulus timing with submillisecond precision in many experimental situations. Where this is not applicable, the monitor can be operated in standard mode by disabling the external backlight control instantaneously.

Keywords
  • Computer Peripherals
  • Data Display
  • Equipment Design
  • Humans
  • Liquid Crystals
  • Luminescence
  • Neurophysiological Monitoring/instrumentation/methods
  • Photic Stimulation/instrumentation/methods
  • Reaction Time
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Software
  • Visual Perception
Citation (ISO format)
SPERDIN, Holger Franz et al. An LCD tachistoscope with submillisecond precision. In: Behavior research methods, instruments, & computers, 2013, vol. 45, n° 4, p. 1347–1357. doi: 10.3758/s13428-012-0311-0
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Article (Published version)
accessLevelPublic
Identifiers
Journal ISSN0743-3808
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