Stimulus Modality
Contents
Definition
This is short hand for a relationship between the stimulus and the sensory system activated by that stimulus.
The Stimulus in an experimental condition has_stimulus_modality(X) because X is the sensory sytem which is activated by the (occurent or continuant playing the role of) Stimulus while the subject is perceiving that stimulus. A single stimulus may have multiple stimulus modalities.
In short, the sensory mechanism through which the subject was stimulated. That is, what was used to stimulate one of their five senses while they were in the scanner?
Definition Source
JT
Synonyms
Parent Entity
BFO: quality
Example
In an auditory oddball paradigm, ...
Relations to other CogPo Terms
UsageNote
In BrainMap (2009) this term very clearly means "the sensory mechanism through which the subject was stimulated. That is, what was used to stimulate one of their five senses while they were in the scanner?" It has nothing to do with the quality of the perceived stimulus to the subject, and maps to the CogPO relationship activates_sensory_system.
Comments
Stimulus modality was first considered to be identical to the sensory system activated by the stimulus--obviously, light activates the sensory system and has the visual modality, auditory tones activate the auditory system and have the auditory modality, etc. It seemed one to one, so why have the redundancy?
However, stimulus modality refers to the internal perception of the stimulus. I.e. perceived light by a regular person has the visual modality; perceived light in a synaesthese might have both the visual and taste modalities.
Created Date
2009/11/12
Curator
JT
Curation Status
pending_final_vetting
URI
Definition
Parent Entity
- None: it is a relationship.
Status
Deprecated: Use activates_sensory_system instead.
Limited to these values
The only allowable range for either has_stimulus_modality or activates_sensory_system are the sensory systems:
