Fig. 2.

Experimental protocol. Participants underwent two sessions per day, for a total of six sessions (3 days). Each day started with a behavioral session of contrast detection with the lateral masking configuration presented 1.5° below the fixation point and 1.5° either left or right (counterbalanced and randomized within session). The two hemifields were defined as contralateral or ipsilateral according to the subsequent stimulation session, i.e., behavioral thresholds from left hemifield were considered “contralateral” in the session in which TMS was delivered over the right V2, and vice versa. For the control condition, we averaged contrast thresholds from both hemifields. Behavioral measurements were used to normalize contrast thresholds in the stimulation session and avoid confounds due to baseline inter-hemifield differences in contrast sensitivity. The session order was randomized (i.e., some participants started with TMS on left V2, others on right V2 or CZ)