@article{ref1,
title="Are Coarse Scales Sufficient for Fast Detection of Visual Threat?",
journal="Psychological science",
year="2010",
author="Mermillod, Martial and Droit-Volet, S. and Devaux, D. and Schaefer, A. and Vermeulen, Nicolas",
volume="21",
number="10",
pages="1429-1437",
abstract="It has recently been suggested that low-spatial-frequency information would provide rapid visual cues to the amygdala for basic but ultrarapid behavioral responses to dangerous stimuli. The present behavioral study investigated the role of different spatial-frequency channels in visually detecting dangerous stimuli belonging to living or nonliving categories. Subjects were engaged in a visual detection task involving dangerous stimuli, and subjects' behavioral responses were assessed in association with their fear expectations (induced by an aversive 90-dB white noise). Our results showed that, despite its crudeness, low-spatial-frequency information could constitute a sufficient signal for fast recognition of visual danger in a context of fear expectation. In addition, we found that this effect tended to be specific for living entities. These results were obtained despite a strong perceptual bias toward faster recognition of high-spatial-frequency stimuli under supraliminal perception durations.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0956-7976",
doi="10.1177/0956797610381503",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0956797610381503"
}