Recovery of masked visual targets by inhibition of the masking stimulus.

Theories of visual backward masking all assume that a masked target is eliminated from the visual system. Experiments on reaction time to masked signals suggest otherwise, as does a recent demonstration that a masked target can be restored to phenomenal awareness by backward masking of the target's mask. Two experiments are reported here that substantiate the possibility of recovering a masked target, by using different stimulus materials and a more elaborate design than was employed in the first demonstration of this effect.