Acuity, luminance, and monocular deprivation in the cat

Abstract

Visual acuity was determined for both eyes of long-term monoculardeprived cats over a wide luminance range. The influence of luminance on the rate of pattern vision recovery was also examined. Unlike strabismic humans and cats, the acuity deficit of monocularly deprived cats is not luminance dependent. Thus acuity is much worse at all luminance levels in the deprived eye. Likewise, initial testing of the deprived eye at low luminance levels does not facilitate recovery of pattern vision. Therefore, monocular lid fusion results in a visual deficit that differs from the effects of strabismis but resembles the effects of anisometropia in man.