title: Is the visual field temporally homogeneous?
abstract: We asked the question "is the visual field temporally homogeneous when the well known spatial inhomogeneity is taken into account?" Our results show that the visual field exhibits inhomogeneity for stimuli of low spatial frequency for which the spatial inhomogeneity is minimal. This inhomogeneity takes the form of a reduction in sensitivity for stimuli of low temporal frequency in the periphery and an enhancement of sensitivity for stimuli of high temporal frequency in the periphery. The low temporal frequency loss in the periphery is post-receptoral and must involve a selective loss of sensitivity of the low pass filter. The enhanced high frequency sensitivity may be post-receptoral or purely receptoral. The consequence of such an inhomogeneity for subsequent stages of visual processing is discussed.
authors.affiliation: Physiological Laboratory, University of Cambridge, England.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Allen
authors.forename: R F
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Hess
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015350:Contrast Sensitivity / Q000502:physiology*; D005584:Fovea Centralis / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D011601:Psychophysics; D012684:Sensory Thresholds / Q000502:physiology; D013998:Time Perception / Q000502:physiology; D014794:Visual Fields / Q000502:physiology*