Effect of eccentricity and light level on the timing of light adaptation mechanisms

Abstract

We explored the complexity of the light adaptation process, assessing adaptation recovery (Ar) at different eccentricities and light levels. Luminance thresholds were obtained with transient background fields at mesopic and photopic light levels for temporal retinal eccentricities (0°–15°) with test/background stimulus size of 0.5°∕1° using a staircase procedure in a two-channel Maxwellian view optical system. Ar was obtained in comparison with steady data [Vis. Res. 125, 12 (2016)]. Light level proportionally affects Ar only at fovea. Photopic extrafoveal thresholds were one log unit higher for transient conditions. Adaptation was equally fast at low light levels for different retinal locations with variations mainly affected by noise. These results evidence different timing in the mechanisms of adaptation involved.