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PubMed2004

Contrast sensitivity to angular frequency gratings is not higher than to Cartesian gratings.

When contrast sensitivity functions to Cartesian and angular gratings were compared in previous studies the peak sensitivity to angular stimuli was reported to be 0.21 log units higher. In experiments carried out to repeat this result, we used the same two-alternative forced-choice paradigm, but improved experimental control and precision by increasing contrast resolution from 8 to 12 bits, increasing the screen refresh rate from 30 Hz interlaced to 85 Hz non-interlaced, linearizing the voltage-luminance relation, modulating luminance in frequencies that minimize pixel aliasing, and improving control of the subject's exposure to the stimuli. The contrast sensitivity functions to Cartesian and angular gratings were similar in form and peak sensitivity (2.4 cycles per visual degree (c/deg) and 32 c/360 degrees, respectively) to those reported in a previous study (3 c/deg and 32 c/360 degrees, respectively), but peak sensitivity to angular stimuli was 0.13 log units lower than that to Cartesian stimuli. When the experiment was repeated, this time simulating the experimental control level used in the previous study, no difference between the peak sensitivity to Cartesian and angular stimuli was found. This result agrees with most current models that assume Cartesian filtering at the first visual processing stage. The discrepancy in the results is explained in part by differences in the degree of experimental control.

Contrast Sensitivity↗
PubMed2005

Evaluation of Melbourne Edge Test contrast sensitivity measures in the visually impaired.

AIM: Contrast sensitivity (CS) provides important information on visual function. This study aimed to assess differences in clinical expediency of the CS increment-matched new back-lit and original paper versions of the Melbourne Edge Test (MET) to determine the CS of the visually impaired. METHODS: The back-lit and paper MET were administered to 75 visually impaired subjects (28-97 years). Two versions of the back-lit MET acetates were used to match the CS increments with the paper-based MET. Measures of CS were repeated after 30 min and again in the presence of a focal light source directed onto the MET. Visual acuity was measured with a Bailey-Lovie chart and subjects rated how much difficulty they had with face and vehicle recognition. RESULTS: The back-lit MET gave a significantly higher CS than the paper-based version (14.2 +/- 4.1 dB vs 11.3 +/- 4.3 dB, p < 0.001). A significantly higher reading resulted with repetition of the paper-based MET (by 1.0 +/- 1.7 dB, p < 0.001), but this was not evident with the back-lit MET (by 0.1 +/- 1.4 dB, p = 0.53). The MET readings were increased by a focal light source, in both the back-lit (by 0.3 +/- 0.81, p < 0.01) and paper-based (1.2 +/- 1.7, p < 0.001) versions. CS as measured by the back-lit and paper-based versions of the MET was significantly correlated to patients' perceived ability to recognise faces (r = 0.71, r = 0.85 respectively; p < 0.001) and vehicles (r = 0.67, r = 0.82 respectively; p < 0.001), and with distance visual acuity (both r = -0.64; p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The CS increment-matched back-lit MET gives higher CS values than the old paper-based test by approximately 3 dB and is more repeatable and less affected by external light sources. Clinically, the MET score provides information on patient difficulties with visual tasks, such as recognising faces.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Test-retest reliability of swept visual evoked potential measurements of infant visual acuity and contrast sensitivity.

The aim of the study was to describe variations in swept visual evoked potential (SWEEP-VEP) assessment of visual acuity and contrast sensitivity in infants and to evaluate the best way to estimate visual performance from obtained SWEEP-VEP data. The visual performance of 92 infants (6-40 wk of age) was measured in two separate visits. Results were verified with repeated tests in seven adults. There was a strong association between the two measurements of infant visual acuity (r = 0.91, p < 0.001), with no constant bias and an inter-assay coefficient of variation of 8.4%. The intra-assay coefficient of variation was 17% and in repeated sessions all obtained acuity measures were normally distributed, indicating that the mean and not the maximum threshold best estimates visual acuity. This estimate of visual acuity also had lower test-retest variability than those calculated from the maximum threshold or threshold from the average EEG signals (p = 0.001). Test-retest measures of infant contrast sensitivity had a correlation coefficient of 0.72 (p < 0.001) and an inter-assay coefficient of variation of 23%. With the observed test-retest variability, SWEEP-VEP is less valid for estimating the visual performance of individual subjects, but it can give reliable group means. This method was well suited to describe visual development in the infants, which for acuity as well as contrast sensitivity increased by 0.64 octave per doubling in age. However, the variability of the SWEEP-VEP method can be a limiting factor, for example, in the assessment of the potential effect of dietary docosahexaenoic acid in a homogeneous group of infants.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Contrast sensitivity for stationary and drifting spatial frequency gratings in positive- and negative-symptom schizophrenia.

To investigate the transient channel deficit hypothesis in schizophrenia, the authors measured the contrast sensitivity for stationary and drifting gratings in groups with positive- and negative-symptom schizophrenia. The negative-symptom group showed a significant reduction in contrast sensitivity for stationary and drifting gratings at low, medium, and high spatial frequencies in comparison to the control group. There were no differences in contrast sensitivity between the control and positive-symptom groups for stationary and drifting gratings at low-spatial frequencies, but there were significant reductions at medium and high spatial frequencies. The results are consistent with a disorder in both sustained and transient channels in negative-symptom schizophrenia and a disorder in sustained channels in positive-symptom schizophrenia.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Effect of ibuprofen on contrast sensitivity.

Therapeutic doses of ibuprofen (2-4'-isobutylphenyl-propionic acid) have been shown to have many deleterious effects on the nervous system. However, visual disturbances have been reported in fewer than 1% of the patients taking recommended doses of ibuprofen. The most commonly reported visual disturbances include: amblyopia, scotomata, and changes in color vision. To our knowledge, no studies have examined the effects of ibuprofen therapy on the contrast sensitivity function of an affected individual. Contrast sensitivity, Snellen visual acuity, color vision (D-15 test), and Goldmann visual fields were measured on 1 affected subject during and after ibuprofen therapy (800 mg/day for 2 days). Snellen visual acuity, color vision, and Goldmann visual fields were unaffected by the treatment. However, the contrast sensitivity was significantly depressed at low spatial frequencies while the subject was taking ibuprofen. The results, in concert with previous reports concerning the visual effects of ibuprofen, suggest that this drug can result in transient multifocal lesions of the visual pathway.

Color Perception↗
PubMed1995

Effect of location and orientation uncertainty on r.m.s. contrast sensitivity with and without spatial noise in peripheral and foveal vision.

PURPOSE: We studied the effect of spatial location and orientation uncertainty on r.m.s. contrast sensitivity with and without external spatial noise in peripheral and foveal vision. METHODS: In the first experiment we used a small circular cosine grating with randomized location embedded in spatial noise and exposed for 33 to 533 ms in peripheral vision. In the second experiment, performed with and without noise, we varied the randomization range of stimulus location in a foveal search task with free eye movements and an unlimited exposure time. In the third experiment we used a vertical cosine grating exposed for 500 ms and varied the randomization range of aperture orientation in the fovea with and without noise. RESULTS: Uncertainty of spatial location had no effect on r.m.s. contrast sensitivity in the periphery or fovea. However, sensitivity decreased with increasing randomization range of aperture orientation in the fovea. CONCLUSIONS: Uncertainty of spatial location had no effect because the accuracy of positional information is inherently poor in peripheral vision, whereas in the fovea the effect of location uncertainty was compensated for by searching eye movements. Randomization of aperture orientation reduced contrast sensitivity in the fovea because in this case the effect of randomization could not be compensated for.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Temporary loss of foveal contrast sensitivity associated with panretinal photocoagulation.

Snellen visual acuity and spatial contrast sensitivity measurements were used to monitor changes in foveal vision in two patients undergoing argon laser panretinal photocoagulation (PRP) in both eyes for proliferative diabetic retinopathy. Foveal edema developed in one of the four eyes. The remaining three eyes showed no signs of foveal edema, but developed temporary losses in high spatial frequency contrast sensitivity during the closely spaced PRP treatments. Since Snellen visual acuity remained stable at the prelaser level, these results indicate the need for more sensitive measures of visual resolution to monitor foveal integrity in patients undergoing PRP.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Development of contrast sensitivity in infants with prenatal and neonatal thyroid hormone insufficiencies.

Thyroid hormone is essential for normal brain development including structures critical for visual processing. While chick and rodent models have demonstrated abnormal visual development following prenatal thyroid hormone loss, comparable data do not exist in the human. To determine whether human infants with intrauterine and early postnatal thyroid hormone insufficiencies have compromised visual abilities, we investigated contrast sensitivity and visual acuity development in 13 infant offspring of women with hypothyroidism during pregnancy (HYPO), 16 preterm infants born between 32 and 35 weeks gestation, 12 infants with congenital hypothyroidism (CH), and 20 typically developing infants. All were assessed with the sweep visual evoked potential technique at 3, 4.5, and 6 months (corrected) age. Results showed significantly reduced contrast sensitivity but normal visual acuity in HYPO and CH groups relative to controls (p < 0.003 and p < 0.05 respectively). Stratification of the HYPO group into subgroups based on maternal TSH levels during the first half of pregnancy revealed lower contrast sensitivities for infants whose mothers' TSH values were above than below the median (p < 0.05). In the CH group, those with an absent thyroid gland and/or a newborn TSH value above 200 mIU/L had lower contrast sensitivities than did those with other etiologies or TSH levels below 100 mIU/L (p < 0.05). There were no significant effects involving the preterm group. These results indicate that thyroid hormone is important for human visual development.

Animals↗
PubMed1988

Contrast sensitivity and acuity relationship in strabismic and anisometropic amblyopia.

The contrast sensitivity function (CSF) and visual acuity were determined in children and adults with unilateral amblyopia due to strabismus or anisometropia with central fixation. The preschool children were examined repeatedly during occlusion treatment. All amblyopes had CSF deficits. The CSF was characterised by its peak value (the maximal sensitivity, Smax, and the spatial frequency at which Smax occurs, Frmax) calculated by a single peak least-square regression method. The two amblyopic groups showed discrepancies in relationship of both Smax and Frmax versus visual acuity both initially and during treatment. The strabismic cases had a more marked visual acuity deficit in relation to the contrast sensitivity losses, whereas these parameters are affected similarly in anisometropic amblyopes. The relationship between recovery of visual acuity and CSF during the initial month of occlusion treatment was of prognostic significance for the outcome of visual acuity improvement.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Contrast sensitivity in amblyopia, abiotrophy and optic nerve atrophy in children].

The threshold spatial contrast sensitivity was assessed in children with amblyopia, tapetoretinal abiotrophy, and partial atrophy of the optic nerve of different origin. The measurements were carried out at spatial frequencies of 0.5-22 cycle/grad. Tests with white, red, green, and blue arrays against a black background realized in the Zebra software for IBM computers with VGA or SVGA displays were carried out. Classification of curves representing the contrast sensitivity for the above conditions is proposed. Characteristics of the groups with the above diseases are described, based on the height, shape, and mutual position of the curves.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

Effect of cataract surgery on contrast sensitivity and glare in patients with 20/50 or better Snellen acuity.

The effect of cataract surgery was assessed in 103 patients whose visual acuity, as measured in dim light and with high contrast Snellen letters, was 20/50 or better. The patients desired cataract surgery. They complained of glare symptoms, had given up driving at night, or both. Contrast sensitivity was measured under simulated night conditions with a calibrated Vistech MCT 8000 device. No patient who had a contrast sensitivity of less than 27 at 6 cycles per degree (20/70 "equivalent acuity") had cataract surgery. The mean preoperative contrast sensitivity function showed abnormally low values for all frequencies (cycles/degree) tested. Postoperatively the values returned to normal. Of 99 patients who answered a postoperative questionnaire, 41 (41%) had been driving at night preoperatively and 80 (80%) were driving at night postoperatively. A control group of 24 noncataractous patients (48 eyes) was in the normal range of the test device used. These results support the view that the benefits of cataract surgery are not well predicted by Snellen acuity, even though functional vision may be significantly reduced.

Aged↗
PubMed1990

Contrast sensitivity and low spatial frequency discrimination in hemi-neglect patients.

Contrast sensitivity for sinusoidal gratings of different spatial frequencies and low spatial frequency discrimination of high contrast squarewave gratings were measured in 26 right brain damaged patients, 15 of whom showed symptoms of spatial hemi-neglect. No difference was present between neglect and non-neglect patients in either task. A difference in contrast sensitivity restricted to low spatial frequencies was present between controls and patients, independent of neglect. Overall, results indicated that spatial vision at threshold and suprathreshold levels is not selectively impaired in patients with hemi-neglect, a finding consistent with theories which postulate a post-perceptual locus of impairment in this syndrome.

Aged↗
PubMed1985

Spatial contrast sensitivity deficits in monkeys produced by optically induced anisometropia.

An anisometropia was simulated in infant rhesus monkeys by securing a high-powered minus lens (-10 D) in front of one eye. The anisometropia rearing procedure was initiated at 30 days of age and was continued for durations of 30, 60, or 90 days. Behavioral measurements of spatial contrast sensitivity obtained when the animals were 9 months of age indicated that the monkeys treated for 30 days had equal or nearly equal contrast sensitivities and cut-off spatial frequencies in the two eyes. The 30-day monkeys also demonstrated normal binocular summation for threshold stimuli. In contrast, the monkeys treated for either 60 or 90 days showed a significant reduction in contrast sensitivity in the defocused eyes for spatial frequencies greater than 1.0 cycles/deg and failed to show an improvement in contrast sensitivity under binocular viewing conditions. The cut-off spatial frequencies obtained at moderate luminance levels for the defocused eyes of the 60- and 90-day monkeys were slightly more than 1.0 octave lower than the cut-offs for the nondeprived eyes and, like humans with anisometropic amblyopia, the deficits in the spatial resolving capacity of the defocused eyes were observed over a large range of background luminances. The results indicate that the lens-reared monkey is a promising model for anisometropic amblyopia in humans.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Contrast sensitivity is increased in a case of nonparkinsonian freezing gait.

We measured spatiotemporal contrast sensitivity and gait variables in a 60-year-old man who had spontaneous episodes of freezing gait without any sign of rigidity or tremor. One major factor triggering freezing was the characteristics of visual space, as freezing episodes occurred during spontaneous walking and passing through apertures and never during walking with eyes closed. Initiation and maintenance of locomotion were greatly facilitated when transverse stripes with optimal intervals were placed on the ground in front of the patient. On the other hand, contrast sensitivity to low-to-intermediate spatiotemporal frequencies was increased in this patient when compared with that of elderly controls. These data suggest that hypersensitivity to visual stimulation and to modifications of the visual environment, associated with abnormal ocular motor behavior, can be one factor leading to the freezing gait phenomenon, which could be called "hypersensitivity braking" and be considered as a sensorimotor disorder.

Aged↗
PubMed2004

The usefulness of Vistech and FACT contrast sensitivity charts for cataract and refractive surgery outcomes research.

AIM: To investigate the repeatability and sensitivity of two commonly used sine wave patch charts for contrast sensitivity (CS) measurement in cataract and refractive surgery outcomes. METHODS: The Vistech CS chart and its descendant, the Functional Acuity Contrast Test (FACT), were administered in three experiments: (1) Post-LASIK and age matched normal subjects; (2) Preoperative cataract surgery and age matched normal subjects; (3) Test-retest repeatability data in normal subjects. RESULTS: Contrast sensitivity was similar between post-LASIK and control groups and between the Vistech and FACT charts. The percentage of subjects one month post-LASIK achieving the maximum score across spatial frequencies (1.5, 3, 6, 12, 18 cycles per degree) were (50, 33, 13, 13, 0 respectively) for FACT, but only (0, 0, 13, 4, 0 respectively) for Vistech. A small number of cataract patients also registered the maximum score on the FACT, but up to 60% did not achieve the minimum score. Test-retest intraclass correlation coefficients varied from 0.28 to 0.64 for Vistech and 0.18 to 0.45 for FACT. Bland-Altman limits of agreement across spatial frequencies were between +/-0.30 and +/-0.85 logCS for Vistech, and +/-0.30 to +/-0.75 logCS for FACT. DISCUSSION: The Vistech was confirmed as providing poorly repeatable data. The FACT chart, likely because of a smaller step size, showed slightly better retest agreement. However, the reduced range of scores on the chart due to the smaller step size led to ceiling (post-LASIK) and floor (cataract) effects. These problems could mask subtle differences between groups of patients with near normal visual function as found post-refractive or cataract surgery. The Vistech and FACT CS charts are ill suited for refractive or cataract surgery outcomes research.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

Subtle disturbances of vision after optic neuritis elicited by studying contrast sensitivity.

Eight patients with a subjective disorder of vision yet normal Snellen acuities after optic neuritis were shown to have an abnormal contrast sensitivity function in their affected eye. It appears that certain disorders of vision are associated with an abnormality of the contrast sensitivity function in spite of near normal visual acuity. Such an abnormality may affect pattern recognition without having an influence on Snellen acuity because of the high contrast of the latter and its predominant association with the higher spatial frequencies. Contrast sensitivity function is thus the only tool available to study those aspects of vision which have remained impervious to other subjective tests of visual function.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Contrast sensitivity, glare, and visual function: diffractive multifocal versus bilateral monofocal intraocular lenses.

We measured contrast sensitivity binocularly in different light conditions in nine patients with bilateral diffractive multifocal intraocular lenses (IOLs) and nine patients with bilateral monofocal IOLs. In general, the diffractive multifocal group had a lower mean contrast sensitivity. Patients completed a questionnaire that asked about their vision under daylight, twilight, and sunshine conditions. Monofocal patients had complete visual restitution in all light conditions. Multifocal patients reported several visual problems, especially when driving at night, but also in normal daylight and cloudy weather conditions.

Aged↗
PubMed1995

Colour contrast sensitivity in patients with age-related Bruch's membrane changes.

Patients with bilateral drusen as a manifestation of early age-related macular degeneration (AMD) may have minor psychophysically detectable visual defects in the presence of normal visual acuity. In a variety of retinal diseases, one of the earliest changes in visual processing is an impairment of normal colour vision. This study was undertaken to evaluate colour vision deficits in patients with macular drusen and to determine whether changes in colour contrast sensitivity may occur over time. In a prospective study, colour vision in 84 eyes of 84 patients aged 55-84 years (mean, 68.89 +/- 6.23 years) with macular drusen and clear media was tested using a computer graphics technique. A total of 47 patients were reviewed annually for up to 2 years and measurements were obtained at annual intervals. Colour contrasts sensitivity along protan, deutan and tritan colour confusion lines was determined at a foveal and a parafoveal region. The sensitivity to all stimuli showed large variations between patients. The thresholds for foveal blue-colour contrast sensitivity were elevated and increased during the review period. In contrast, there was no significant change in sensitivity with time for red and green at the foveal or parafoveal region. Tritan threshold changes suggest that the SW cone-receptor population is more susceptible to damage associated with early age-related macular disease than are red or green cones. The results indicate that blue colour contrast sensitivity determined over time may serve as a measure to assess the progression of age-related maculopathy prior to the manifestation of atrophic or exudative macular lesions associated with visual loss.

Aged↗