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Is 20/20 vision good enough? Visual acuity differences within the normal range predict contour element detection and integration

Author(s): Keane, Brian P.; Kastner, Sabine; Paterno, Danielle; Silverstein, Steven M.

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dc.contributor.authorKeane, Brian P.-
dc.contributor.authorKastner, Sabine-
dc.contributor.authorPaterno, Danielle-
dc.contributor.authorSilverstein, Steven M.-
dc.date.accessioned2019-10-28T15:53:50Z-
dc.date.available2019-10-28T15:53:50Z-
dc.date.issued2015-02en_US
dc.identifier.citationKeane, Brian P, Kastner, Sabine, Paterno, Danielle, Silverstein, Steven M. (2015). Is 20/20 vision good enough? Visual acuity differences within the normal range predict contour element detection and integration. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 22 (1), 121 - 127. doi:10.3758/s13423-014-0647-9en_US
dc.identifier.issn1069-9384-
dc.identifier.urihttp://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/pr1jq9x-
dc.description.abstractContour integration (CI) combines appropriately aligned and oriented elements into continuous boundaries. Collinear facilitation (CF) occurs when a low-contrast oriented element becomes more visible when flanked by collinear high-contrast elements. Both processes rely at least partly on long-range horizontal connections in early visual cortex, and thus both have been extensively studied to understand visual cortical functioning in aging, development, and clinical disorders. Here, we ask: Can acuity differences within the normal range predict CI or CF? To consider this question, we measured binocular visual acuity and compared subjects with 20/20 vision to those with better-than-20/20 vision (SharpPerceivers) on two tasks. In the CI task, subjects located an integrated shape embedded in varying amounts of noise; in the CF task, subjects detected a lowcontrast element flanked by collinear or orthogonal high-contrast elements. In each case, displays were scaled in size to modulate element visibility and spatial frequency (4-12 cycles/deg). SharpPerceivers could integrate contours under noisier conditions than the 20/20 group (p=.0002) especially for high spatial frequency displays. Moreover, although the two groups exhibited similar collinear facilitation, SharpPerceivers could detect the central target with lower contrast at high spatial frequencies (p<.05). These results suggest that small acuity differences within the normal range—corresponding to about a one line difference on a vision chart—strongly predict element detection and integration. Furthermore, simply ensuring that subjects have normal or corrected-to-normal vision is not sufficient when comparing groups on contour tasks; visual acuity confounds also need to be ruled out.en_US
dc.format.extent121 - 127en_US
dc.language.isoen_USen_US
dc.relation.ispartofPsychonomic Bulletin & Reviewen_US
dc.rightsAuthor's manuscripten_US
dc.titleIs 20/20 vision good enough? Visual acuity differences within the normal range predict contour element detection and integrationen_US
dc.typeJournal Articleen_US
dc.identifier.doidoi:10.3758/s13423-014-0647-9-
dc.date.eissued2014-05-21en_US
dc.identifier.eissn1531-5320-
pu.type.symplectichttp://www.symplectic.co.uk/publications/atom-terms/1.0/journal-articleen_US

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