Abstract
Variations in the Visual Threshold THE problems of visual research discussed in this lecture mainly concern the sensitivity of the retina. A very general test of retinal sensitivity is the determination of the threshold increment, or, briefly, the threshold. The eye views a given distribution of brightness—which may be varying with time in a prescribed way—and, at a given moment, a small additional light stimulus is applied at a particular point in the visual field. By repeated trials with different intensities of the additional stimulus, the critical intensity can be determined at which the observer sees the stimulus on fifty per cent of occasions. This threshold increment, or better, its reciprocal, provides a measure of the sensitivity of a given part of the retina at a given time. It can be determined under a wide range of conditions, and by varying the angular size, exposure time and colour of the test stimulus the response can be made to depend in different degrees on different mechanisms in the retina.
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STILES, W. Current Problems of Visual Research. Nature 154, 290–293 (1944). https://doi.org/10.1038/154290a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/154290a0
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