title: Sawtooth contrast sensitivity: effects of mean illuminance and low temporal frequencies.
abstract: Temporal contrast sensitivity was measured for mirror-image sawtooth (rapid-on and rapid-off) and sine waveforms for a 1.8 deg foveal target. In one experiment, contrast sensitivity was measured for 2-26 Hz stimuli at target mean illuminance levels of 5-1260 td. At 5 td, contrast sensitivity functions for sawtooth and sine waveforms, expressed in terms of the Fourier fundamental amplitude, are equivalent. At higher light levels, sawtooth sensitivity increasingly exceeds sine sensitivity and rapid-off (decremental) sawtooths show progressively greater sensitivity than rapid-on (incremental) sawtooths. This pattern of results was obtained for two color-normal observers and for a deuteranopic observer. In a second experiment, sawtooth and sine sensitivity was tested at 500 td with an extended low-frequency range, to 0.5 Hz. Rapid-off and rapid-on sensitivities declined only slightly at low temporal frequencies in contrast with sine sensitivity. To interpret our data, we evaluate two single-pathway models (last-stage asymmetric detector and compressive response-intensity non-linearity) and a dual-pathway model in which incremental and decremental waveforms are detected by separate ON and OFF visual mechanisms.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Loyola University of Chicago, IL 60626.
authors.forename: R W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Bowen
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pokorny
authors.forename: V C
authors.initials: VC
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Fowler
mesh_terms: D000221:Adaptation, Ocular / Q000502:physiology; D003117:Color Vision Defects / Q000503:physiopathology; D015350:Contrast Sensitivity / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008027:Light; D008297:Male; D008954:Models, Biological; D013997:Time Factors