Document Type
Article
Publication Date
9-1-2023
Publication Title
Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science
Keywords
Young Adult, Humans, Astigmatism, Anisotropy, Contrast Sensitivity
ISSN
1552-5783
Volume
64
Issue/No.
12
First Page
4
Abstract
PURPOSE: To investigate the effect of visual adaptation to orientation-dependent optical blur on meridional contrast sensitivity function in artificially imposed astigmatism.
METHODS: The study adopted a top-up adapt-test paradigm. During the blur adaptation process, the 18 non-astigmatic young adult participants were briefly presented with natural scene images (first trial, 10 minutes; subsequent trials, 6 seconds). Contrast sensitivities for horizontal and vertical gratings at spatial frequencies ranging from 1 to 8 cycles per degree (cpd) were measured immediately before and after adaptation to +3.00 diopters cylinder (DC) with-the-rule or against-the-rule astigmatism. Meridional anisotropy was measured to quantify the contrast sensitivity difference between the two grating orientations.
RESULTS: Adapting to astigmatic blur enhanced contrast sensitivity at the blurred power meridian but reduced contrast sensitivity at the least affected axis meridian. In with-the-rule conditions, contrast sensitivity for horizontal gratings was significantly increased, whereas that for vertical gratings was significantly decreased. Similarly, in against-the-rule conditions, contrast sensitivity for vertical gratings was significantly increased, whereas that for horizontal gratings was significantly decreased. These two factors together resulted in a substantial systematic reduction, averaging 34%, in meridional anisotropy of contrast sensitivity across the spatial frequency spectrum.
CONCLUSIONS: Astigmatism adaptation occurs in natural scene viewing. Brief exposure to astigmatic blur altered contrast sensitivity in the opposite direction at the two principal meridians, indicating that the mature visual system possesses functional plasticity to recalibrate the response characteristics of orientationally tuned cortical filters and thus promote substantial reductions of meridional anisotropy in astigmatic vision, to some extent counterbalancing the elongated oval shape of astigmatic blur.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
NSUWorks Citation
Leung, Tsz-Wing; Li, Roger W.; and Kee, Chea-Su, "Brief Adaptation to Astigmatism Reduces Meridional Anisotropy in Contrast Sensitivity." (2023). HPD Articles. 296.
https://nsuworks.nova.edu/hpd_facarticles/296
ORCID ID
DOI
10.1167/iovs.64.12.4
Copyright
Copyright 2023 The Authors
Comments
Supported by the Start-Up Fund (P0034097 to TL) and Undergraduate Research and Innovation Scheme (P0038345 to TL) with the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and InnoHK initiative with the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government; by the RPB Walt and Lilly Disney Award for Amblyopia Research, Research to Prevent Blindness (RWL); and by Nova Southeastern University research grants (PFRDG 334909 and HPD 334637 to RWL).