According to a new study, some people are able to see the world at a higher «frame rate» than others. The authors believe that this trait may even give these people an advantage when it comes to competitive gaming and sports, although more research is needed to confirm this.
The human eye allows us to perceive the world by converting light into electrical signals using cells known as photoreceptors. The signals are then transmitted through the optic nerve to an area of the brain known as the visual cortex, where they are converted into an image. The frequency with which this process occurs during each second is known as temporal resolution.
According to a study published in the journal PLOS ONEAccording to researchers, some people see the world around them with a higher temporal resolution than other people. What’s more, researchers believe that this ability to create more images per second may give these people an advantage in activities that require high speed, such as gaming.
«Because we only have direct access to our own subjective experience, we may naively expect that everyone else perceives the world in the same way as we do. Examples such as color blindness show that this is not always true, but there are many lesser-known ways in which perception can also vary. This study characterizes one such difference – in the «frame rate» of our visual systems. Some people really do see the world faster than others»,” says Kevin Mitchell, associate professor of developmental neurobiology at Trinity College Dublin, who co-authored the paper.
During the study, the researchers asked a group of 88 volunteers to watch an LED light through a pair of glasses that allowed the light to flash at different rates. This test, known as the «flicker critical fusion threshold», allowed scientists to track the number of flashes per minute, or the frequency at which a person could no longer distinguish between flicker and a continuous light source.
It was found that the flicker threshold varied considerably among the volunteers, allowing some to see frequencies of up to 60 flashes per second, while others no longer perceived interruptions in light as few as 35 times per second. In addition, it was found that each individual’s critical flicker threshold changed relatively little over multiple sessions that were conducted simultaneously on successive days.
«We don’t yet know how this change in visual temporal resolution might affect our daily lives. But we believe that individual differences in perceptual speed may become apparent in high-speed situations where fast-moving objects need to be found or tracked, such as in ball sports, or in situations where visual scenes change rapidly, such as in games,— says another co-author of the study, PhD candidate Clinton Harlem, also from Trinity College Dublin.
The results of the study led to a lively discussion online about whether some gamers really have a biological advantage in vision over others. Researchers also expressed interest in further studying this phenomenon.
Source: IGN