Higher-order aberrations produce orientation-specific notches in the defocused contrast sensitivity function.

Local minima or notches in the defocused contrast sensitivity function (CSF) have been linked to the aberrations of the eye. We use theoretical modeling of the effects of the aberrations to show these notches can be orientation-selective due to the effects of aberration terms such as coma and trefoil. Notches that changed with orientation were observed in the defocused CSF of four subjects. The measured CSFs were found to match well with theoretical predictions produced using the individual aberrations. Theoretical modeling highlighted orientation-specific differences in notches for both positive and negative blur. The results indicate that orientation is an important variable when testing for the functional effects of higher-order aberrations.

[1]  F. W. Campbell,et al.  Effect of Focus on the Visual Response to a Sinusoidally Modulated Spatial Stimulus , 1965 .

[2]  D Regan,et al.  Visual acuity and contrast sensitivity in multiple sclerosis--hidden visual loss: an auxiliary diagnostic test. , 1977, Brain : a journal of neurology.

[3]  Humza J. Tahir,et al.  Contrast sensitivity based orientation changes in refractive surgery patients , 2009, Ophthalmic & physiological optics : the journal of the British College of Ophthalmic Opticians.

[4]  Huanqing Guo,et al.  Changes in through-focus spatial visual performance with adaptive optics correction of monochromatic aberrations , 2008, Vision Research.

[5]  I. Murray,et al.  Orientation selectivity for sinusoidal gratings; evidence for an optical component , 2008 .

[6]  D Regan,et al.  Orientation-selective visual loss in patients with Parkinson's disease. , 1987, Brain : a journal of neurology.

[7]  P. M. Prieto,et al.  Effects of interactions among wave aberrations on optical image quality , 2006, Vision Research.

[8]  David A. Atchison,et al.  The influence of the Stiles–Crawford peak location on visual performance , 2003, Vision Research.

[9]  Ian J Murray,et al.  Variant and invariant color perception in the near peripheral retina. , 2006, Journal of the Optical Society of America. A, Optics, image science, and vision.

[10]  A. Bradley,et al.  The chromatic eye: a new reduced-eye model of ocular chromatic aberration in humans. , 1992, Applied optics.

[11]  B. Howland,et al.  A subjective method for the measurement of monochromatic aberrations of the eye. , 1977, Journal of the Optical Society of America.

[12]  H. Spekreijse,et al.  Origin of notches in CSF: optical or neural? , 1987, Investigative ophthalmology & visual science.

[13]  Charman Wn,et al.  Effect of refractive error in visual tests with sinusoidal gratings. , 1979 .

[14]  Dion H Scott,et al.  Contrast sensitivity and the Stiles–Crawford effect , 2002, Vision Research.

[15]  Susana Marcos,et al.  On the symmetry between eyes of wavefront aberration and cone directionality , 2000, Vision Research.

[16]  W N Charman,et al.  Objective technique for the determination of monochromatic aberrations of the human eye. , 1984, Journal of the Optical Society of America. A, Optics and image science.

[17]  I. Bodis-Wollner,et al.  The measurement of spatial contrast sensitivity in cases of blurred vision associated with cerebral lesions. , 1976, Brain : a journal of neurology.

[18]  F. Campbell,et al.  Optical quality of the human eye , 1966, The Journal of physiology.

[19]  R A Applegate,et al.  Parametric representation of Stiles-Crawford functions: normal variation of peak location and directionality. , 1993, Journal of the Optical Society of America. A, Optics and image science.

[20]  D A Atchison,et al.  Predicting the effects of optical defocus on human contrast sensitivity. , 1998, Journal of the Optical Society of America. A, Optics, image science, and vision.

[21]  D A Atchison,et al.  Effects of defocus and pupil size on human contrast sensitivity , 1999, Ophthalmic & physiological optics : the journal of the British College of Ophthalmic Opticians.

[22]  D Regan,et al.  Orientation-specific losses of contrast sensitivity in multiple sclerosis. , 1980, Investigative ophthalmology & visual science.

[23]  D. Williams,et al.  Monochromatic aberrations of the human eye in a large population. , 2001, Journal of the Optical Society of America. A, Optics, image science, and vision.

[24]  L. Thibos,et al.  Standards for reporting the optical aberrations of eyes. , 2002, Journal of refractive surgery.

[25]  H. H. Hopkins.  The frequency response of a defocused optical system , 1955, Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series A. Mathematical and Physical Sciences.

[26]  P Artal,et al.  Dynamics of the eye's wave aberration. , 2001, Journal of the Optical Society of America. A, Optics, image science, and vision.

[27]  W N Charman,et al.  Effect of refractive error in visual tests with sinusoidal gratings. , 1979, The British journal of physiological optics.

[28]  W. Stiles,et al.  Luminous Efficiency of Rays entering the Eye Pupil at Different Points , 1937, Nature.

[29]  A. Bradley,et al.  Consequences of Monocular Diplopia for the Contrast Sensitivity Function , 1996, Vision Research.

[30]  S. Pardhan,et al.  Effect of positive and negative defocus on contrast sensitivity in myopes and non-myopes , 2004, Vision Research.

[31]  Humza J. Tahir,et al.  Importance of grating orientation when monitoring contrast sensitivity before and after refractive surgery , 2008, Journal of cataract and refractive surgery.

[32]  A. Bradley,et al.  Statistical variation of aberration structure and image quality in a normal population of healthy eyes. , 2002, Journal of the Optical Society of America. A, Optics, image science, and vision.