Perceptual consequences of retinal stabilization with high-frequency non-stroboscopic displays

Abstract

During natural fixation, ocular drifts continually modulate the input to the retina. Previous studies have shown that this motion enhances sensitivity to fine spatial detail, a conclusion supported by findings of reduced sensitivity to high--but not low--spatial frequencies when stimuli are immobilized on the retina for brief periods of time. Most prior retinal-stabilization studies have relied on fast-phosphor cathode ray tube (CRT) displays or adaptive optics scanning laser ophthalmoscopes (AOSLOs), both of which deliver temporally pulsed stimulation. This raises the question of whether stimulus flicker contributed to the previously observed perceptual impairments under retinal stabilization. Here, we replicate stabilization experiments using two types of fast displays that provide more continuous stimulation: liquid-crystal display (LCD) and organic light-emitting diode (OLED) monitors. We again find an impairment in sensitivity to high spatial frequencies under retinal stabilization. Analyses of the retinal input confirm high-quality stabilization within the temporal bandwidth of human vision. These results show that retinal-stabilization effects are robust across display technologies and are little affected by the specific dynamics of modern displays.