Abstract
Contrast sensitivity functions of forty 4-month-old human infants were measured using a preferential-looking method and the method of constant stimuli. Circular sinewave gratings varied from 0.27 to 1.08 c/deg, contained eight unattenuated cycles (with edges tapered to uniform gray), and rose to the desired contrast in 2 sec. Log contrast sensitivities for variables close in spatial frequency correlated more highly than those that were farther apart in these data, and in data of 1-, 2-, and 3-month-olds from Banks and Salapatek [(1981) Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 31, 1-45]. Factor analyses yielded at least two frequency-tuned factors per age group. Monte Carlo simulations of a quantitative model that shifts spatial mechanisms to higher frequencies with age reproduced the results for 4-month-olds, but simulations of adultlike, unshifting mechanisms did not. The data are consistent with the following conclusions: 1. (a) individual differences in the sensitivity of spatial mechanisms may explain some individual differences in CSFs; 2. (b) factor analysis may help to estimate mechanism tuning; and 3. (c) spatial mechanisms may shift to higher frequencies during development.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 381-396 |
| Number of pages | 16 |
| Journal | Vision Research |
| Volume | 33 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 1993 |
| Externally published | Yes |
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Keywords
- Contrast sensitivity Factor analysis Individual differences Infant vision Spatial frequency Visual development
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Ophthalmology
- Sensory Systems
Cite this
Individual differences in contrast sensitivity functions : the first four months of life in humans. / Peterzell, David H.; Werner, John S; Kaplan, Peter S.
In: Vision Research, Vol. 33, No. 3, 1993, p. 381-396.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Individual differences in contrast sensitivity functions
T2 - the first four months of life in humans
AU - Peterzell, David H.
AU - Werner, John S
AU - Kaplan, Peter S.
PY - 1993
Y1 - 1993
N2 - Contrast sensitivity functions of forty 4-month-old human infants were measured using a preferential-looking method and the method of constant stimuli. Circular sinewave gratings varied from 0.27 to 1.08 c/deg, contained eight unattenuated cycles (with edges tapered to uniform gray), and rose to the desired contrast in 2 sec. Log contrast sensitivities for variables close in spatial frequency correlated more highly than those that were farther apart in these data, and in data of 1-, 2-, and 3-month-olds from Banks and Salapatek [(1981) Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 31, 1-45]. Factor analyses yielded at least two frequency-tuned factors per age group. Monte Carlo simulations of a quantitative model that shifts spatial mechanisms to higher frequencies with age reproduced the results for 4-month-olds, but simulations of adultlike, unshifting mechanisms did not. The data are consistent with the following conclusions: 1. (a) individual differences in the sensitivity of spatial mechanisms may explain some individual differences in CSFs; 2. (b) factor analysis may help to estimate mechanism tuning; and 3. (c) spatial mechanisms may shift to higher frequencies during development.
AB - Contrast sensitivity functions of forty 4-month-old human infants were measured using a preferential-looking method and the method of constant stimuli. Circular sinewave gratings varied from 0.27 to 1.08 c/deg, contained eight unattenuated cycles (with edges tapered to uniform gray), and rose to the desired contrast in 2 sec. Log contrast sensitivities for variables close in spatial frequency correlated more highly than those that were farther apart in these data, and in data of 1-, 2-, and 3-month-olds from Banks and Salapatek [(1981) Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 31, 1-45]. Factor analyses yielded at least two frequency-tuned factors per age group. Monte Carlo simulations of a quantitative model that shifts spatial mechanisms to higher frequencies with age reproduced the results for 4-month-olds, but simulations of adultlike, unshifting mechanisms did not. The data are consistent with the following conclusions: 1. (a) individual differences in the sensitivity of spatial mechanisms may explain some individual differences in CSFs; 2. (b) factor analysis may help to estimate mechanism tuning; and 3. (c) spatial mechanisms may shift to higher frequencies during development.
KW - Contrast sensitivity Factor analysis Individual differences Infant vision Spatial frequency Visual development
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UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=0027477214&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/0042-6989(93)90093-C
DO - 10.1016/0042-6989(93)90093-C
M3 - Article
VL - 33
SP - 381
EP - 396
JO - Vision Research
JF - Vision Research
SN - 0042-6989
IS - 3
ER -