title: Psychophysical definition of S-cone stimuli in the macaque.
abstract: We used the perceptual reports of nonhuman primates to perform psychophysical calibrations of S-cone isolating stimuli. S-cone stimuli were calibrated separately at several spatial locations for each monkey. To do this we exploited the effect of transient tritanopia, which causes a selective decrease of sensitivity in the observer's S-cone channel. At the start of each transient tritanopia trial monkeys were visually adapted to a bright yellow background. This type of adaptation is known to induce transient tritanopia. Calibrated S-cone isolating stimuli were determined by finding a near S-cone stimulus whose detection threshold was maximally elevated during transient tritanopia. At the start of each control trial, monkeys were adapted to a bright white background. In these trials, monkeys' detection thresholds for near S-cone stimuli were unchanged. We found that S-cone isolating stimuli could be determined at most locations tested in each monkey. Calibrated S-cone stimuli were particular to both spatial location and animal. To understand the visual system as a whole in vivo requires physiological methods not possible in human subjects. The present results open the door to novel behavioral and physiological experiments by showing that S-cone isolating stimuli can be calibrated in monkeys.
authors: Department of Neuroscience and Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
authors: Nathan
authors: N
authors: Hall
authors: Carol
authors: C
authors: Colby
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003118:Color Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D003117:Color Vision Defects / Q000503:physiopathology*; D015350:Contrast Sensitivity; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D008253:Macaca mulatta / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D010775:Photic Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D017949:Retinal Cone Photoreceptor Cells / Q000502:physiology*; D012684:Sensory Thresholds / Q000502:physiology*; D014795:Visual Pathways / Q000503:physiopathology*