Abstract
Contrast is the fractional change in illumination from the mean over space or time. Photon detection sets the absolute sensitivity limit of vision in darkness, but contrast sensitivity sets the detection limit in other luminance regimes where photons are no longer sparse. Humans can perceive contrasts as small as 0.5%. The first part of this chapter discusses the retinal mechanisms that support high contrast sensitivity from the perspective of maximizing the signal-to-noise ratio. The second part of the chapter explores how high sensitivity can be achieved across the huge dynamic range of natural scenes without engaging adaptation but instead by distributing peak sensitivity ranges among different neurons.
Original language | English (US) |
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Title of host publication | Retinal Computation |
Publisher | Elsevier |
Pages | 68-81 |
Number of pages | 14 |
ISBN (Print) | 9780128198964 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Aug 17 2021 |
Keywords
- Bipolar cells
- Contrast
- Distributed code
- OFF delta RGC
- OFF sustained alpha RGC
- Push-pull mechanism
- Signal-to-noise ratio
- Visual scene
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Medicine
- General Neuroscience