Visual adaptation stronger at horizontal than vertical meridian: Linking performance with V1 cortical surface area

Visual adaptation reduces bioenergetic expenditure by decreasing sensitivity to repetitive and similar stimuli. In human adults, visual performance varies systematically around polar angle for many visual dimensions and tasks: Performance is superior along the horizontal than the vertical meridian (horizontal-vertical anisotropy, HVA), and the lower than upper vertical meridian (vertical meridian asymmetry, VMA). These asymmetries are resistant to spatial and temporal attention. However, it remains unknown whether visual adaptation differs around polar angle. Here, we investigated how adaptation influences contrast sensitivity at the fovea and perifovea across the four cardinal meridian locations, for both horizontal and vertical stimuli in an orientation discrimination task. In the non-adapted conditions, the HVA was more pronounced for horizontal than vertical stimuli. For both orientations, adaptation was stronger along the horizontal than vertical meridian, exceeding foveal adaptation. Additionally, perifoveal adaptation effects positively correlated with individual V1 cortical surface area. These findings reveal that visual adaptation mitigates the HVA in contrast sensitivity, fostering perceptual uniformity around the visual field while conserving bioenergetic resources.