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Adjusting to a sudden 'aging' of the lens

Authors :
Katherine E.M. Tregillus
Michael A. Webster
John S. Werner
Source :
Journal of the Optical Society of America. A, Optics, image science, and vision, vol 33, iss 3, Tregillus, KEM; Werner, JS; & Webster, MA. (2016). Adjusting to a sudden "aging" of the lens. JOURNAL OF THE OPTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA A-OPTICS IMAGE SCIENCE AND VISION, 33(3), A129-A136. doi: 10.1364/JOSAA.33.00A129. UC Davis: Retrieved from: http://www.escholarship.org/uc/item/8mw7s083
Publication Year :
2016
Publisher :
eScholarship, University of California, 2016.

Abstract

Color perception is known to remain largely stable across the lifespan despite the pronounced changes in sensitivity from factors such as the progressive brunescence of the lens. However, the mechanisms and timescales controlling these compensatory adjustments are still poorly understood. In a series of experiments, we tracked adaptation in observers after introducing a sudden change in lens density by having observers wear glasses with yellow filters that approximated the average spectral transmittance of a 70-year-old lens. Individuals were young adults and wore the glasses for 5 days for 8 hours per day while engaged in their normal activities. Achromatic settings were measured on a CRT before and after each daily exposure with the lenses on and off, and were preceded by 5 minutes of dark adaptation to control for short-term chromatic adaptation. During each day, there was a large shift in the white settings consistent with a partial compensation for the added lens density. However, there was little to no evidence of an after-image at the end of each daily session, and participants’ perceptual nulls were roughly aligned with the nulls for short-term chromatic adaptation, suggesting a rapid renormalization when the lenses were removed. The long-term drift was also extinguished by brief exposure to a white adapting field. The results point to distinct timescales and potentially distinct mechanisms compensating for changes in the chromatic sensitivity of the observer.

Details

Database :
OpenAIRE
Journal :
Journal of the Optical Society of America. A, Optics, image science, and vision, vol 33, iss 3, Tregillus, KEM; Werner, JS; & Webster, MA. (2016). Adjusting to a sudden "aging" of the lens. JOURNAL OF THE OPTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA A-OPTICS IMAGE SCIENCE AND VISION, 33(3), A129-A136. doi: 10.1364/JOSAA.33.00A129. UC Davis: Retrieved from: http://www.escholarship.org/uc/item/8mw7s083
Accession number :
edsair.doi.dedup.....2156ccb0f7af1536f28840c349f75563
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1364/JOSAA.33.00A129.