This Research Topic is part of the “The Contrast Sensitivity Function: From Laboratory to Clinic” series.

The Contrast Sensitivity Function: From Laboratory to Clinic

The contrast sensitivity function (CSF) is fundamental to vision science, it depicts how sensitivity to narrow-band stimuli varies with spatial and/or temporal frequency. The prominence of CSF in the area of psychophysical and physiological studies of vision is based on several facts: (1) Luminance contrast, not luminance itself, that is the critical input to most visual mechanisms; (2) Linear systems analysis, that relates the CSF to the receptive field properties of neurons. CSFs measured in many species, from single neurons to full observers, exhibit a characteristic low- or band-pass shape; (3) The CSF is considered as the front-end filter for standard observer models in complex visual tasks; (4) Contrast sensitivity deficits accompany many visual neuro-pathologies. As a clinical measure, CSF predicts functional vision better than other visual diagnostics.

Despite the importance of CSF, the precise assessment with conventional methods is very time consuming. Measuring the full CSF in the laboratory typically requires 250-500 trials (15-30 minutes). The testing time becomes prohibitive for measuring multiple CSFs (e.g., for different eyes) in laboratory settings, not to mention for clinical applications. There have been many efforts devoted to increasing the efficiency of CSF measurements in recent years. One good example is the qCSF method, a Bayesian adaptive psychophysical procedure for efficient and precise CSF assessment. Other methods based on optokinetic nystagmus, smooth pursuit eye tracking, or manually tracing the visible boundary of stimuli have also shown promising improvements in measurement efficiency.

The aim of this Research Topic is to extend the knowledge related to CSF by assembling a collection of theoretical and clinical oriented research articles. We welcome Original Research, Review, Mini-Review, Case Report and Perspective articles related to:

• Empirical studies on spatial and/or temporal CSF
• Computational models of spatial and/or temporal CSF
• CSF deficits in clinical populations, including but not limited to amblyopia, myopia, glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy
• Development and applications of new CSF tests

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Prof. Peter Bex and Dr. Zhong-Lin Lu own intellectual property rights relating to qCSF technology. Prof. Peter Bex and Dr. Zhong-Lin Lu have equity interest in Adaptive Sensory Technology. Dr. Alexandre Reynaud provides consultancy services for Novartis Pharma AG. Dr. Fang Hou declares no other competing interests.

Impact

Frontiers in Neuroscience

Perception Science

Participating Journals

Frontiers in Computational Neuroscience

Frontiers in Medicine

Ophthalmology

Frontiers in Psychology

Perception Science