Using the MePMoS Model and Eye Dominance to explain how Human Reaction Time depends on the Spatial Location of an Object in the Visual Field

Object recognition is an unsolved neurophysics problem. How does the human brain recognize objects, even when they are off-center and in the periphery of our visual field? Here, we explore eye-dominance as a role in this neurophysics mechanism, along with the MePMoS (Memory-Prediction-Motion-Sensation) Model for explaining how humans recognize objects during peripheral, or covert, attention. Our experiment consists of analyzing human reaction times for correctly identifying a letter that is displayed on a computer screen at a variable eccentricity (opening angle) from the center of the screen. Depending on the set of trials, participants observe the screen with only their right eye, only their left eye, or both eyes. Reaction times are measured by keyboard response, and analyzed by comparing either spatial field (L or R) or eccentricity as the independent variable. We show that a person has faster reaction time when an object is spatially aligned with that person’s dominant eye. We also show results for how a person’s reaction time depends on how peripherally an object is displayed. We connect these results to a mechanism for how the human brain successfully recognizes an object, even when that object appears in a way that is spatially different from how it was learned.