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Similar contrast sensitivity functions measured using psychophysics and optokinetic nystagmus

Although the contrast sensitivity function (CSF) is a particularly useful way of characterising functional vision, its measurement relies on observers making reliable perceptual reports. Such procedures can be challenging when testing children. Here we describe a system for measuring the CSF using a...

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Autores principales: Dakin, Steven C., Turnbull, Philip R. K.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Nature Publishing Group 2016
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5048294/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27698486
http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/srep34514
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author Dakin, Steven C.
Turnbull, Philip R. K.
author_facet Dakin, Steven C.
Turnbull, Philip R. K.
author_sort Dakin, Steven C.
collection PubMed
description Although the contrast sensitivity function (CSF) is a particularly useful way of characterising functional vision, its measurement relies on observers making reliable perceptual reports. Such procedures can be challenging when testing children. Here we describe a system for measuring the CSF using an automated analysis of optokinetic nystagmus (OKN); an involuntary oscillatory eye movement made in response to drifting stimuli, here spatial-frequency (SF) band-pass noise. Quantifying the strength of OKN in the stimulus direction allows us to estimate contrast sensitivity across a range of SFs. We compared the CSFs of 30 observers with normal vision measured using both OKN and perceptual report. The approaches yield near-identical CSFs (mean R = 0.95) that capture subtle intra-observer variations in visual acuity and contrast sensitivity (both R = 0.84, p < 0.0001). Trial-by-trial analysis reveals high correlation between OKN and perceptual report, a signature of a common neural mechanism for determining stimulus direction. We also observe conditions where OKN and report are significantly decorrelated as a result of a minority of observers experiencing direction-reversals that are not reflected by OKN. We conclude that there are a wide range of stimulus conditions for which OKN can provide a valid alternative means of measuring of the CSF.
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spelling pubmed-50482942016-10-11 Similar contrast sensitivity functions measured using psychophysics and optokinetic nystagmus Dakin, Steven C. Turnbull, Philip R. K. Sci Rep Article Although the contrast sensitivity function (CSF) is a particularly useful way of characterising functional vision, its measurement relies on observers making reliable perceptual reports. Such procedures can be challenging when testing children. Here we describe a system for measuring the CSF using an automated analysis of optokinetic nystagmus (OKN); an involuntary oscillatory eye movement made in response to drifting stimuli, here spatial-frequency (SF) band-pass noise. Quantifying the strength of OKN in the stimulus direction allows us to estimate contrast sensitivity across a range of SFs. We compared the CSFs of 30 observers with normal vision measured using both OKN and perceptual report. The approaches yield near-identical CSFs (mean R = 0.95) that capture subtle intra-observer variations in visual acuity and contrast sensitivity (both R = 0.84, p < 0.0001). Trial-by-trial analysis reveals high correlation between OKN and perceptual report, a signature of a common neural mechanism for determining stimulus direction. We also observe conditions where OKN and report are significantly decorrelated as a result of a minority of observers experiencing direction-reversals that are not reflected by OKN. We conclude that there are a wide range of stimulus conditions for which OKN can provide a valid alternative means of measuring of the CSF. Nature Publishing Group 2016-10-04 /pmc/articles/PMC5048294/ /pubmed/27698486 http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/srep34514 Text en Copyright © 2016, The Author(s) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in the credit line; if the material is not included under the Creative Commons license, users will need to obtain permission from the license holder to reproduce the material. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
spellingShingle Article
Dakin, Steven C.
Turnbull, Philip R. K.
Similar contrast sensitivity functions measured using psychophysics and optokinetic nystagmus
title Similar contrast sensitivity functions measured using psychophysics and optokinetic nystagmus
title_full Similar contrast sensitivity functions measured using psychophysics and optokinetic nystagmus
title_fullStr Similar contrast sensitivity functions measured using psychophysics and optokinetic nystagmus
title_full_unstemmed Similar contrast sensitivity functions measured using psychophysics and optokinetic nystagmus
title_short Similar contrast sensitivity functions measured using psychophysics and optokinetic nystagmus
title_sort similar contrast sensitivity functions measured using psychophysics and optokinetic nystagmus
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5048294/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27698486
http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/srep34514
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