Human visual responses to sinusoidally modulated lightRéponses visuelles chez l'homme à la lumière modulée de façon sinusoïdale

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Abstract

Sinusoidally modulated light, even at low percentages of modulation, gives rise to occipital responses, sometimes large. They may reproduce rather well the input sine wave in shape and in amplitude, especially between 9 and 15 c/sec for diffuse large field illumination and above 35 c/sec for strong illumination with small fields.

The responses between 9 and 15 c/sec may be partly described by assuming a linear filter action. Resonance phenomena are observed, in which different types of stimulation yield compatible results.

Responses and spontaneous activity seem to be additive to a considerable degree, as are the responses to stimulation of each eye. In the 9–15 c/sec frequency range, where the responses exhibit mainly the fundamental frequency, cancellation effects are found with out-of-phase stimulation of both eyes.

That the large distortions found may be caused in early stages of the visual process, and are essential, is discussed.

Responses have been recorded at many frequencies when the light was seen as fused by the subjects.

Although subjective flicker threshold curves bear no clear relation to either the size or shape of the responses, it is hoped that the recordings of evoked responses with sinusoidally modulated light, combined with the techniques presented by Clynes et al. (1964), will be a valuable supplement to the current methods of investigation.

Résumé

La lumière modulée de façon sinusoïdale provoque des réponses occipitales parfois importantes, même à de faibles pourcentages de modulation. Ces réponses peuvent reproduire assez bien la forme et l'amplitude de l'onde lumineuse sinusoïdale de stimulation, surtout entre 9 et 15 c/sec pour un champ d'illumination étendu et diffus, et au-dessus de 35 c/sec pour une illumination forte et des champs restreints.

On peut décrire partiellement les réponses entre 9 et 15 c/sec en supposant une action filtrante de type linéaire. On constate des phénomènes de résonnance dans lesquels des types différents de stimulation aboutissent à des résultats similaires.

Les réponses et l'activité spontanée semblent s'additionner considérablement; ceci est également vrai pour les réponses à la stimulation de chaque oeil. Dans la gamme de fréquences 9–15 c/sec, où les réponses suivent essentiellement la fréquence fondamentale, une stimulation déphasée des deux yeux peut produire des effets d'annulation.

La discussion porte sur le fait que les déformations considérables qui ont été constatées puissent provenir des premiers stades du processus visuel, et qu'elles soient essentielles.

Des réponses ont été enregistrées à de nombreuses fréquences alors que les sujets percevaient la lumière comme continue.

Bien que les courbes de seuil subjectif d'intermittence de la lumière ne montrent pas de relation nette avec l'amplitude ni la forme des réponses, on espère que les enregistrements des réponses évoquées par une lumière modulée de façon sinusoïdale, associés aux techniques présentées par Clynes et al. (1964) constitueront un supplément précieux aux méthodes d'investigations actuelles.

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Part of this work was supported by Contract No. N 62558-2701 of the U.S. Navy European Research Contracts Program.

2

Now at the Ophthalmological Clinics of the Wilhelminagasthuis, Amsterdam.

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