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Efficient measurements for the dynamic range of human lightness perception

  • Clinical Investigation
  • Published:
Japanese Journal of Ophthalmology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

Patients with an eye disease often report nyctalopia, hemianopia, and/or photophobia. We hypothesized that such symptoms are related to the disease impacting the dynamic range of lightness perception (DRL). However, there is currently no standardized approach for measuring DRL for clinical use. We developed an efficient measurement method to estimate DRL.

Study design

Clinical trial

Methods

Fifty-five photophobic patients with eye disease and 46 controls participated. Each participant judged the appearance of visual stimuli, a thick bar with luminance that gradually changed from maximum to minimum was displayed on uniform background. On different trials the background luminance changed pseudo-randomly between three levels. The participants repeatedly tapped a border on the bar that divided the appearance of grayish white/black and perfect white/black. We defined the DRL as the ratio between the luminance values at the tapped point of the border between gray and white/black.

Results

The mean DRL of the patients was approximately 15 dB, significantly smaller than that of the controls (20 dB). The center of each patient's DRL shift depending on background luminance, which we named index of contextual susceptibility (iCS), was significantly larger than controls. The DRL of retinitis pigmentosa was smaller than controls for every luminance condition. Only the iCS of glaucoma was significantly larger than controls.

Conclusions

This measurement technique detects an abnormality of the DRL. The results support our hypothesis that the DRL abnormality characterizes lightness-relevant symptoms that may elucidate the causes of nyctalopia, hemeralopia, and photophobia.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Scott Mooney, Jonathan Winawer, and Brian A. Wandell for helpful discussion. Our study was supported by the grant of AMED (Research and Development Grants for Comprehensive Research for Persons with Disabilities, Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development: 15dk0310013h0003 to S.N.), Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) KAKENHI (JP18K16939 to H.H.), Charitable Trust Fund for Ophthalmic Research in Commemoration of Santen Pharmaceutical’s Founder (H.H.) and Tokai Optical Co. Ltd. Some parts of this study were reported on the 25th Annual Meeting of Vision Rehabilitation (June, 2016), the Winter Meeting of Vision Society of Japan (January, 2017) and the 15th Asian Pacific Conference on Vision (July, 2019).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ophthalmology, School of Medicine, The Jikei University, Tokyo, Japan

    Hiroshi Horiguchi, Hiroyuki Kubo & Satoshi Nakadomari

  2. Tokai Optical Co., Ltd, Okazaki, Japan

    Eiji Suzuki

  3. Osaka University, Suita, Japan

    Takashi Fujikado, Sanae Asonuma & Chihomi Fujimoto

  4. Dokkyo Medical University, Mibu, Japan

    Muneto Tatsumoto

  5. Niigata University, Niigata, Japan

    Takeo Fukuchi, Yuta Sakaue & Mika Ichimura

  6. Kobe City Eye Hospital, Kobe, Japan

    Yasuo Kurimoto, Midori Yamamoto & Satoshi Nakadomari

  7. Next Vision Public Interest Incorporated Associations, Kobe, Japan

    Satoshi Nakadomari

Authors
  1. Hiroshi Horiguchi
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  2. Eiji Suzuki
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  3. Hiroyuki Kubo
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  4. Takashi Fujikado
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  8. Takeo Fukuchi
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  9. Yuta Sakaue
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  11. Yasuo Kurimoto
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  13. Satoshi Nakadomari
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hiroshi Horiguchi.

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Conflicts of interest

H. Horiguchi, Grant (Next Vision); E. Suzuki, None; H. Kubo, Grant (Next Vision); T. Fujikado, Grant (Next Vision); S. Asonuma, Grant (Next Vision); C. Fujimoto, Grant (Next Vision); M. Tatsumoto, Grant (Next Vision); T. Fukuchi, Grant (Santen, HOYA, Atsuzawa Proteze, Shiga Medical Instruments, Union Medical, Retina Kitanihon, Abbott, Otsuka, Senju, Alcon, Kowa, Next Vision), Lecture fee (Santen, Abbott, Otsuka, Senju, Alcon, Kowa, Pfizer, Glaukos, AbbVie, Nitten, Alcon, Nidek, Novartis); Y. Sakaue, Grant (Next Vision); M. Ichimura, Grant (Next Vision); Y. Kurimoto, Grant (TOMEY, Santen, HOYA, Novartis, AMO, Senju, Bayer, Kowa, Next Vision), Financial support (Santen, HOYA, Novartis, AMO, Senju), Lecture fee (Bayer, Kowa, Alcon); M. Yamamoto, Grant (Next Vision); S. Nakadomari, Grant (Next Vision, Tokai Optical).

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Corresponding Author: Hiroshi Horiguchi

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Horiguchi, H., Suzuki, E., Kubo, H. et al. Efficient measurements for the dynamic range of human lightness perception. Jpn J Ophthalmol 65, 432–438 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10384-020-00808-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10384-020-00808-2

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