Selectivity of the evoked potential for vernier offset

Hyperacuity thresholds of a few arc seconds can be achieved psychophysically for a variety of spatial localization tasks. The present experiments show that evoked potentials can be elicited in response to the introduction of vernier offsets, but not by the introduction of other cues to hyperacuity such as bisection or relative pattern motion, although each of these cues is equally salient psychophysically. Moreover, vernier acuity measurements and the evoked potentials elicited in response to vernier offsets are strongly degraded by the introduction of flanking stimuli 2-4 min from the vernier target. This suggests that the hyperacuity VEP is a cortical correlate of a very specific type of hyperacuity, that produced by vernier offsets (colinearity failure).