Vernier acuity for edges defined by flicker.

Abstract

We investigated the effects of contrast and temporal frequency on vernier edge alignment thresholds. Edges were defined by the presence of a 180 deg phase difference in the temporal modulation waveform of adjacent rectangles with spatially uniform luminances. Thresholds of 10 arc sec or less could be obtained at high contrasts, and flicker rates up to 8 Hz. Above this range, thresholds increased rapidly with decreasing contrast and increasing rates of flicker. Thresholds also increased with increasing temporal frequency over the range 0-20 Hz for contrasts normalized to thresholds for the detection of either flicker or the edge. Linear regression on log-log plots of threshold vs contrast at different temporal frequencies showed that the relationship between threshold and contrast was well described by a power law with an exponent of about -0.5 at temporal frequencies of 8 Hz or lower. About 8 Hz the slope more than doubled and thresholds increased. Thresholds also increased when the relative phase (i.e. the instantaneous sign of the contrast) of the upper and lower edges was reversed, and this effect was observed at all temporal frequencies. Measurements of threshold as a function of the size of a gap between the upper and lower edges suggested that the integration region was larger at 16 Hz or above than at 8 Hz. The results suggest that the channels which mediate vernier hyperacuity are phase sensitive and attenuate frequencies higher than 8 Hz.