Effects Of Temporal Frequency Research Articles

Effect of temporal frequency on habituation in migraine.

Individuals with migraine tend to experience discomfort when viewing flickering stimuli. It has been suggested that one of the characteristics of migraine is a lack of habituation to repetitive visual stimuli, although findings can be mixed. Previous work has typically used similar visual stimuli (chequerboard) and only one temporal frequency. This study systematically varied the spatial and temporal characteristics of the visual stimulus, using steady-state visual evoked potentials to assess the differences in amplitude between migraine and control group over consecutive blocks of stimulation. Twenty individuals with migraine and 18 control observers were asked to rate their visual discomfort after viewing sequences of flickering Gabor patches with a frequency of either 3 or 9 Hz across three different spatial frequencies (low 0.5 cpd; mid-range 3 cpd; high 12 cpd). Compared to the control group, the migraine group showed a reduction in SSVEP responses with increased exposure, suggesting habituation processes are intact at 3-Hz stimulation. However, at 9-Hz stimulation, there was evidence of increased responses with increasing exposure in the migraine group in particular, which might suggest a build-up of the response over repetitive presentations. Visual discomfort varied with spatial frequency, for both 3- and 9-Hz stimuli, the highest spatial frequencies were the least uncomfortable compared to the low- and mid-range spatial frequencies in both groups. This difference in SSVEP response behaviour, dependent on temporal frequency, is important to consider when researching the effects of repetitive visual stimulation in migraine and could give some indication of build-up of effects leading to aversion to visual stimuli.

Effects of temporal frequency towards visual roughness perception by drifted grating stimulation

Previous studies proved that in addition to spatial characteristics function in extracting roughness information, there is potential roughness dependability across changes in the temporal mechanisms of textured surfaces. In the present study, we created temporal coding mechanism by converting fine spatial structure surface into a temporal drifting pattern. We proposed that regular spatial structure of gratings with variation of temporal mechanism have different influence toward roughness perception. Results showed massive individual differences of roughness perception between subjects, suggesting that a combination of spatial and temporal mechanisms accounts for perceptual judgments of roughness. We suggest that visual roughness judgment was determined by spatial in grating stimulation, and improvement is needed in spatial components before temporal coding of visual roughness can be declared.

Effects of temporal frequency on binocular deficits in amblyopia

Amblyopia is associated with a range of well-known visual spatial deficits, which include reduced contrast sensitivity, spatial distortions, interocular suppression, and impaired stereopsis. Previous work has also pointed to deficits in processing dynamic visual information, but it is unknown whether these deficits influence performance under binocular conditions. We examined the effects of temporal modulation on contrast sensitivity and binocular interactions in a preliminary study of 8 adults with amblyopia and 14 normally-sighted control subjects. For each observer, we measured interocular balance and stereopsis thresholds with binocular flicker across a range of four temporal (0, 4, 7.5, and 12 Hz) and spatial (1, 2, 4, and 8 cpd) frequencies. Interocular balance was estimated by varying the relative contrast of dichoptic letter pairs to produce perceptual reports of each letter with equal frequency, and stereopsis thresholds were measured by determining the minimum disparity at which subjects identified a front-depth target with 75% accuracy. Consistent with previous findings, we observed greater interocular imbalance and impaired stereoacuity at high spatial frequencies in amblyopes. In contrast, the effects of temporal frequency on performance were smaller: across both groups, interocular imbalance was largest at mid-to-low temporal frequencies, and stereopsis thresholds were unaffected by temporal frequency. Our results suggest that there may be a previously unreported effect of temporal frequency on interocular balance, as well as a possible dissociation between the effects of flicker on interocular balance and stereopsis.

Binocular temporal visual processing in myopia.

Our ability to utilize binocular visual information depends on the visibility of the retinal images in each eye, which varies with both their spatial and temporal frequency content. Although the effects of spatial information on binocular function have been established, the effects of temporal frequency on binocularity are less well understood. These factors may also vary with refractive error if spatiotemporal sensitivity is affected by structural changes during the emmetropization process that may differentially affect distinct ganglion cells. In a cross-sectional study, we evaluated the potential effects of temporal and spatial frequency on binocularity in young individuals with emmetropia or myopia. Stereopsis and binocular balance were measured as a function of temporal (0–12 Hz) and spatial (1–8 c/deg) frequency. Stereopsis thresholds were measured by determining the minimum disparity at which subjects accurately identified the depth of bandpass-filtered rings. Binocular balance was measured by determining the relative contrast at which subjects reported dichoptic bandpass-filtered letters with equal frequency. Stereopsis thresholds were temporal but not spatial frequency dependent whereas binocular balance was spatial and temporal frequency dependent. There were no differences in monocular spatiotemporal contrast sensitivity between refractive groups in our sample. However, individuals with myopia showed reduced stereopsis with flickering stimuli and greater binocular imbalance at higher spatial and lower temporal frequencies compared to emmetropes. Differences in binocular vision between emmetropia and corrected myopia depend on temporal as well as spatial frequency and may be the cause or consequence of abnormal emmetropization during visual development.

Effects of temporal frequency on binocularity and contrast sensitivity in amblyopia

Effects of temporal frequency on binocularity and contrast sensitivity in amblyopia

Optimally growing boundary layer disturbances in a convergent nozzle preceded by a circular pipe

We report the findings from a theoretical analysis of optimally growing disturbances in an initially turbulent boundary layer. The motivation behind this study originates from the desire to generate organized structures in an initially turbulent boundary layer via excitation by disturbances that are tailored to be preferentially amplified. Such optimally growing disturbances are of interest for implementation in an active flow control strategy that is investigated for effective jet noise control. Details of the optimal perturbation theory implemented in this study are discussed. The relevant stability equations are derived using both the standard decomposition and the triple decomposition. The chosen test case geometry contains a convergent nozzle, which generates a Mach 0.9 round jet, preceded by a circular pipe. Optimally growing disturbances are introduced at various stations within the circular pipe section to facilitate disturbance energy amplification upstream of the favorable pressure gradient zone within the convergent nozzle, which has a stabilizing effect on disturbance growth. Effects of temporal frequency, disturbance input and output plane locations as well as separation distance between output and input planes are investigated. The results indicate that optimally growing disturbances appear in the form of longitudinal counter-rotating vortex pairs, whose size can be on the order of several times the input plane mean boundary layer thickness. The azimuthal wavenumber, which represents the number of counter-rotating vortex pairs, is found to generally decrease with increasing separation distance. Compared to the standard decomposition, the triple decomposition analysis generally predicts relatively lower azimuthal wavenumbers and significantly reduced energy amplification ratios for the optimal disturbances.

Incremental and decremental L- and M-cone driven ERG responses: II Sawtooth stimulation

L- and M-cone driven on- and off- ERG responses and their interactions were examined using full field stimuli with sawtooth temporal profiles. The effects of temporal frequency and contrast were studied. ERG recordings were obtained from 21 trichromatic, 1 protanopic, and 1 deuteranopic subjects. ERGs to L-cone increments and decrements resembled those to M-cone decrements and increments, respectively (i.e., of the opposite polarity). Temporal frequency and contrast had little effect on the implicit times. All response components varied linearly with contrast. When stimulated simultaneously, the responsivities of most components were larger for counterphase than for inphase modulation. The retinal processing leading to an ERG response is reversed for L- and M-cone driven responses.

The effect of temporal frequency on the local and global structure of Glass patterns

The effect of temporal frequency on the local and global structure of Glass patterns

The Effect of Temporal and Spatial Frequency on Phantom-Contour Detection

Phantom contours are a visual illusion that can define regions with distinctive boundaries when no real surrounding edges exist. Spatial-frequency sensitivity is known to vary reliably across the visual-processing pathways, as does temporal-frequency sensitivity. Given that the effect of temporal frequency on phantom-contour detection has been previously established, and that the relationship between spatial frequency and temporal frequency is known, two experiments were designed to measure the highest level of spatial frequency that would still allow reliable pattern detection at different temporal frequencies by using the phantom-contour paradigm. The results revealed that phantom-contour detection is impaired when the stimulus has a high spatial-frequency content and that phantom-contour perception is supported by low spatial frequencies.

Effects of Temporal Frequency and Contrast on Spatial Frequency Characteristics for Disparity Threshold

We measured disparity threshold for identifying the depth direction as a function of spatial frequency with various temporal frequencies and stimulus contrasts using drifting gratings. The results showed that disparity threshold depended little on temporal frequency with the exception of high temporal frequencies (≥ 10Hz) independently of stimulus contrast. Contrary to temporal frequency, contrast substantially influenced spatial frequency characteristics. The disparity threshold was approximately constant with change in spatial frequency with slight increase at high spatial frequencies for contrasts higher than 0.2 when the threshold is expressed by phase difference between the left and right eye images (phase disparity). The phase disparity threshold had a negative peak at a spatial frequency between 1 and 5c/deg (band-pass) for contrasts lower than 0.2. We discuss possible differences in the underlying mechanisms to determine disparity threshold below and above temporal frequency of 10 Hz.

The role of relative motion computation in ‘direction repulsion’

When two sets of intermixed dots move in different directions the perceived direction of each is considerably shifted [Marshak & Sekuler (1979). Science, 205, 1399–1401; Mather & Moulden, (1980). Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 32, 325–333)]. This phenomenon has been attributed to ‘repulsive’ interactions between channels tuned to different directions of motion. However, we report that it is not only the relative direction, but also the density and speed of the sets, which determines the magnitude of the apparent shift. These results are difficult to reconcile with the notion of ‘repulsive’ interactions, and we describe an alternative, functionally motivated explanation. In the natural environment, observed motion results from objects moving over background surfaces that may themselves be mobile. Disentanglement of motion signals therefore necessitates a computation of relative motion. We propose that the phenomenon of ‘direction repulsion’ results from a deliberate adjustment of observed motion to compensate for an inferred source of ‘background’ motion. A simple scheme to do this subtracts the weighted vector-sum of all motion signals from observed motion. This relative motion computation quantitatively predicts the observed effects of the density of dot sets on perceived direction. The effects of speed cannot be reconciled with the scheme as it stands, but this could be due to the model’s failure to consider the effect of temporal frequency on the effective contrast of the sets.

Effect of temporal frequency and contrast on peripheral grating resolution.

We measured resolution at 10 degrees in the inferior temporal retina using horizontal and vertical gratings of different contrasts which modulated in time at temporal frequencies from 0 to 40 Hz. Since peripheral grating resolution is directly related to the sampling density of retinal ganglion cells this allowed us to observe changes in responding ganglion cell density as the stimulus properties changed to selectively stimulate magnocellular pathway cells (M cells) instead of parvocellular pathway cells (P cells). At all contrasts there was no decline in resolution performance up to 10 Hz, after which resolution deteriorated significantly, this effect being greater at lower contrasts. The predicted psychophysical resolution limit for M cells calculated from the anatomical data of Dacey indicates that resolution for high temporal frequency (30 Hz) or low contrast (5%) stimuli is too good to be mediated by M cells alone and there is still significant P cell stimulation by these stimuli.

Transfer characteristics of lateral geniculate nucleus X-neurons in the cat: effects of temporal frequency.

The dependency of intrageniculate signal transfer on stimulus temporal frequency was investigated by comparing responses of individual X-relay cells with their direct retinal inputs in anesthetized and paralyzed cats. Temporal frequency response functions of lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) X-cells were more narrowly tuned than those of their retinal inputs. The efficiency of signal transfer was consistently highest at or around the geniculate cells' optimal temporal frequency, and the degree of signal transfer, which was more closely related to the LGN cells' firing rate than to the firing rate of their retinal input, decreased for both lower and higher temporal frequencies. The high temporal frequency cut-offs were significantly lower in geniculate cell responses than those of their direct retinal inputs. This reduction in temporal resolution was exaggerated for relatively low stimulus spatial frequencies. The present results provide clear evidence for the notion that LGN cells function as nonlinear temporal filters and that this stimulus-dependent signal transmission appears to be regulated by complex local mechanisms.

Infant spatiotemporal vision: Dependence of spatial contrast sensitivity on temporal frequency

Effects of temporal frequency on infant spatial contrast sensitivity were studied with forcedchoice preferential looking, using localized 1.0 and 0.35 c/deg grating patches. Between 4 and 8 months, contrast sensitivity at 1.0 c/deg increased significantly at 8–17 Hz but showed little change at 2–4 Hz, so temporal tuning became increasingly bandpass with age. At 4 months, temporal tuning was lowpass at 1.0 c/deg and bandpass at 0.35 c/deg. Control data on adults indicate that the differences between the infant and adult data cannot be accounted for solely by reduced photoreceptor density and quantal catch, and suggest developmental changes in tuning and/or relative sensitivities of spatiotemporal mechanisms.,

Effects of temporal frequency on phase-dependent sensitivity to heterochromatic flicker.

Modulation sensitivity was measured as a function of the relative phase of two equiluminous chromatic sources (564 and 625 nm) for temporal frequencies ranging from 1 to 40 Hz. Measurements were made at a retinal illuminance of 900 Td, with a 2 degree field metameric to approximately 600 nm. For most frequencies, the phase of least sensitivity was other than 180 degrees, indicating the existence of a luminance response to antiphase modulation. Additional data sets examined the effects of field size (0.5 degrees-8 degrees) and mean chromaticity (583-610 nm). Variation in field size, chromaticity, and photometric setting had little effect on the phase of least sensitivity. The data were fitted by using vector summation between luminance and chromatic responses; the modulation-sensitivity functions that resulted from this analysis agreed with those of earlier studies.

Hemispheric asymmetries in the visual evoked potentials to temporal frequency: preliminary evidence.

Steady-state evoked potentials were recorded in eight adult subjects from occipital and temporal leads of both hemispheres to investigate the effect of temporal frequency on the hemispheric specialization for basic visual information. A 3 cycles deg-1 grating was phase-reversed at different temporal frequencies (from 4 to 18 Hz), and the frequency spectrum of evoked potentials was computed by means of a fast Fourier transform program. Significant results were obtained for the component at twice the temporal frequency of stimulation. Occipital evoked potentials did not show hemispheric asymmetry, whereas temporal evoked potentials showed an interaction between hemisphere and temporal frequency: right and left hemispheres were respectively prominent for low (4 and 6 Hz) and for high (8-18 Hz) temporal frequencies. The results are discussed in the context of current research on hemispheric specialization for basic spatiotemporal parameters of visual information processing.

Spatio-temporal interaction in neurones of the cat's dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus.

Temporal contrast sensitivities in the range 0.33-42 Hz for optimum spatial frequency grating stimuli were measured for large populations of XG and YG neurones. For fewer cells, complete spatial contrast sensitivity profiles were measured at a series of temporal frequencies and, in some cases, at a range of levels of retinal illumination too. Contrast sensitivities were measured from responses of cells reliably different from their maintained discharges. The cells' discharges were recorded extracellularly from the binocular segment of the A laminae of the cat's dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus. At their respective optimum spatial frequencies, YG cell were more sensitive on average than XG cells for most temporal frequencies, though the average temporal contrast sensitivity profiles of both cell classes had similar shapes. The optimum temporal frequency for both cell types was around 5 Hz. XG and YG cells seem to be relatively less sensitive to low temporal frequencies than their ganglion cell counterparts. At a retinal illumination of 230 cd/m2 (pupil, 3 mm2), increasing temporal frequency in the range 0.65-21 Hz produced a relative improvement in low spatial frequency contrast sensitivity in most XG and all YG cells studied. There were some XG cells, though, which showed little or no effect of temporal frequency on their spatial contrast sensitivity curves. At all temporal frequencies, the shapes of spatial contrast sensitivity curves and the cells' temporal contrast sensitivity profiles were not markedly dependent on the criterion level set to measure 'threshold' contrast. Reducing the level of retinal illumination in the range 230-0.007 cd/m2 (pupil, 3 mm2) produced a fall in contrast sensitivities for both XG and YG cells. The loss in sensitivity was more marked at high spatial and high temporal frequencies. The similar shapes of the temporal contrast sensitivity curves of XG and YG cells weakens the suggestion that the human counterparts of these cells would provide a suitable physiological substrate for the psychophysical sustained and transient channels. Although the behaviour of XG and YG cells parallels quite closely changes in cat and human psychophysical spatial contrast sensitivities with temporal frequency and retinal illumination, many problems remain for equating results from the two fields.

The influence of temporal frequency and adaptation level on receptive field organization of retinal ganglion cells in cat.

1. The discharges of single X and Y ganglion cells (distinguished by a test of linearity of spatial summation) were recorded in the optic tract of anaesthetized, paralysed cats.2. Fourier techniques were used to analyse the distribution of amplitudes of several component temporal frequencies in the maintained discharge. X and Y cells were distinguished by their mean rates, but not by the amplitude or variability of other component frequencies.3. Sensitivities to moving sinusoidal gratings were measured by an automatic procedure in which stimulus contrast was adjusted to give the smallest modulation of discharge that reliably exceeded that of the relevant component frequency in the maintained discharge.4. Spatial contrast sensitivity curves of X cells and of on-centre Y cells could be described by a model of the receptive field as two concentric Gaussian sensitivity profiles representing the centre and the antagonistic surround.5. Changes in temporal frequency altered the shapes of the spatial contrast sensitivity curves of most units. For X cells sensitivity at the optimum spatial frequency was greater at a temporal frequency of 10.4 Hz than at lower or higher temporal frequencies. The relative sensitivity to low spatial frequencies improved as temporal frequency was raised from 0.16 to 20.8 Hz. The shapes of the contrast sensitivity functions of Y cells were less affected by changes in temporal frequency: at all spatial frequencies sensitivity was greater at 2.6 Hz than at lower or higher frequencies.6. The effect of temporal frequency upon the shape of the spatial contrast sensitivity curve could be explained by assuming that the centre and surround changed their sensitivities without changing their characteristic radii. A simple model, using a temporal R-C filter in the surround pathway, predicted qualitatively similar changes in the shape of contrast sensitivity curves but failed to provide acceptable fits to the observations. A second model, which assumed that surround signals are delayed by a fixed amount before being combined with those from the centre, fitted the observations of most, but not all, X cells.7. Dark adaptation produced changes in the shape of the spatial contrast sensitivity curve consistent with a reduction in the relative sensitivity of the surround, but did not bring about systematic changes in the space constants of the best-fitting theoretical curves.8. The effects of adaptation level upon contrast sensitivity were expressed as plots of increment-threshold against mean illumination. The shallowest of these curves, obtained for the optimum spatial stimulus moving at about 10 Hz, had slopes averaging 0.77. Decreases in spatial or temporal frequency increased the slopes of the curves.