If a vernier stimulus precedes a grating for a very short time, the vernier
either remains invisible, but may bequeath some of its properties to the g
rating (feature inheritance), or might shine through keeping its features -
depending on the number of grating elements [Herzog, M. H. & Koch, C., 200
1. Seeing properities of an invisible element: feature inheritance and shin
e-through. Proceedings of the Natlional Academy of Science USA 98, 4271-427
5]. Feature inheritance and shine-through represent two different states of
feature binding [Herzog, M. H., Koch, C., & Fahle, M., Switching binding s
tates. Visual Cognition (in press)], whereas shine-through depends in subtl
e ways on the spatial layout of the grating [Herzog, M. H., Fahle, M., & Ko
ch, C., (2001). Spatial aspects of object formation revealed by a new illus
ion, shine-through. Vision Research]. Here, we show that also temporal para
meters of the grating influence shine-through. For example, a delayed prese
ntation of certain grating elements can deteriorate performance dramaticall
y. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.