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Encyclopedia of Computational Neuroscience pp 1–6Cite as

Flicker-Induced Phosphenes

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Definition

Flicker-induced phosphenes are visual hallucinations – often of simple geometric forms – induced by temporal modulation of spatially unstructured light. Theory suggests that they arise through a combination of resonance and lateral inhibition.

Detailed Description

Experimental Background

Flicker-induced hallucinations are sometimes called phosphenes to distinguish them from the over-sensationalized hallucinations linked to the five melodramatic Ds: drugs, dementia, dreams, delirium, and sensory deprivation. Flicker phosphenes were discovered by Purkinje in 1819 while fanning his fingers between his eyes and a gas light; Brewster (the inventor of the kaleidoscope) noticed similar forms while racing past a sunlit fence with his eyes closed. Fechner and Helmholtz, who used rotating black-and-white disks as weak flicker sources, reported mainly pastel-colored hexagonal and rhomboidal lattices. In modern studies, many observers of strobe lights and flickering displays also report...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mathematics, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

    G. Bard Ermentrout

  2. National Research Council, US Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright Patterson Air Force Base, OH, USA

    Vincent A. Billock

Authors
  1. G. Bard Ermentrout
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  2. Vincent A. Billock
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to G. Bard Ermentrout .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Atlanta, GA, USA

    Dieter Jaeger

  2. Department of Biomedical Engineering, Florida International University, Miami, FL, USA

    Ranu Jung

Section Editor information

  1. W.M. Keck Science Center, The Claremont Colleges, Claremont, CA, USA

    John Milton Professor of Biology

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Bard Ermentrout, G., Billock, V.A. (2018). Flicker-Induced Phosphenes. In: Jaeger, D., Jung, R. (eds) Encyclopedia of Computational Neuroscience. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7320-6_511-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7320-6_511-4

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-7320-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-7320-6

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Biomedicine and Life SciencesReference Module Biomedical and Life Sciences

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Chapter history

  1. Latest

    Flicker-Induced Phosphenes
    Published:
    20 June 2018

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7320-6_511-4

  2. Original

    Flicker-Induced Phosphenes
    Published:
    17 May 2014

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7320-6_511-3

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