A repetitive visual stimulus is a

visual The visual system comprises the sensory organ (the eye) and parts of the central nervous system (the retina containing photoreceptor cells, the optic nerve, the optic tract and the visual cortex) which gives organisms the sense of sight (the ...

stimulus that has a distinctive property (e.g.,

frequency Frequency is the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit of time. It is also occasionally referred to as ''temporal frequency'' for clarity, and is distinct from ''angular frequency''. Frequency is measured in hertz (Hz) which is eq ...

phase Phase or phases may refer to: Science *State of matter, or phase, one of the distinct forms in which matter can exist *Phase (matter), a region of space throughout which all physical properties are essentially uniform * Phase space, a mathematic ...

). The stimuli are simultaneously presented to the user when focusing

attention Attention is the behavioral and cognitive process of selectively concentrating on a discrete aspect of information, whether considered subjective or objective, while ignoring other perceivable information. William James (1890) wrote that "Atte ...

on the corresponding stimulus. For example, when the user focuses attention on a repetitive visual stimulus, a steady state visually evoked potential is elicited which manifests as

oscillatory Oscillation is the repetitive or periodic variation, typically in time, of some measure about a central value (often a point of equilibrium) or between two or more different states. Familiar examples of oscillation include a swinging pendulum ...

components in the user's electroencephalogram, especially in the signals from the primary

visual cortex The visual cortex of the brain is the area of the cerebral cortex that processes visual information. It is located in the occipital lobe. Sensory input originating from the eyes travels through the lateral geniculate nucleus in the thalamus and ...

, matching the frequency or harmonics of that stimulus. Repetitive visual stimuli are said to evoke a lesser response in brain cells, specifically superior collicular cells, than moving stimuli. Habituation is very rapid in healthy subjects in reference to repetitive visual stimuli. Development changes around the first year of life are attributed for attention control and these are said to be fully functional around the ages of two and four years old. This is the age that toddlers seem to now prefer moving and changing stimuli, much like healthy adults. In infants, there is evidence that supports the hypothesis that infants prefer repetitive visual stimuli or patterns, in comparison to moving or changing targets.

References

Neurophysiology Visual perception {{neuroscience-stub