Tracking attention using RIFT with a consumer-monitor setup

Rapid Invisible Frequency Tagging (RIFT) is a recent technique that extends the traditional frequency tagging approach by stimulating at frequencies beyond the threshold of perception (≥60Hz). By doing so, it offers a measure of early visual processing without the confounding effect of introducing visible stimuli. This ability is most frequently harnessed as a tracker of covert attention in experimental paradigms across various disciplines in cognitive neuroscience. However, almost all existing RIFT work so far has made use of expensive display hardware limited in its accessibility. Recent work has successfully measured a RIFT response in combination with a 480Hz refresh consumer monitor, but it is not yet clear whether this setup can be utilized to track the locus of attention. Using a spatial cueing paradigm (n=24) while simultaneously tagging two locations (60Hz and 65.5Hz) on a 360Hz refresh rate monitor, we show that attentional modulations of early visual processing can be reliably measured with RIFT on a consumer monitor. We hope that this study will facilitate the widespread application of using consumer-grade high-refresh-rate gaming monitors with RIFT for future research.