Motion-induced-blindness (MIB) is used to examine accessible properties of high-contrast visual objects which are not consciously available. Visual stimuli consists of a static Gabor target embedded in a rotating grid. Under such conditions, the target perceptually disappears within a few seconds. Following Observers' report of disappearance, a high-contrast Gabor cue is presented. The cue effect on the reappearance of the target within the limited trial time is examined. Surprisingly, results show very low reappearance rates when cues are remote from the target or when orthogonal to it, even when proximal. High reappearance rates are observed with cues proximal and similar to the target. Plaid targets reappear with components cues and plaid cues, however plaid cues are not very effective with component targets. It seems that subconscious objects preserve their location and components-orientation, demonstrating that visual processes sensitive to proximity and feature-similarity operate across the boundary of consciousness. By controlling the duration of target presentation we find that a??reactivatinga?? the target may take 200a??400 msecs, depending on the depth of suppression.
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