p287fig07.07 Persistence increases with distance between a target and a masking stimulus due to weakening of the spatial competition in the first competitive stage of hypercomplex cells.<BR>||  Persistence data and simulations.  Persistence increases with distance between a target and a masking stimulus (Farrell, Pavel, Sperling 1990). There is less spatial competition from the masker to the target when they are more distant, hence the target is more persistent.