Abstract

The minimum detectable dark interval between trains of perceptually fused flashes of light was investigated. The length of this minimum interval between such trains was an inverse function of both train duration and of pulse rate within the train. Trains longer than a critical duration of 70 or 80 msec did not further decrease the dark interval duration. Also, an It=k law is approximated in that any constant amount of light energy in the fused trains, regardless of its time distribution within the critical duration, produces a constant value of minimum detectable dark time between trains. Results are discussed in relation to action of light quanta in the stimulus, neural summation, and neural latency changes, all of which, it is contended, jointly contribute to production of the psychophysical results of the experiment.

© 1960 Optical Society of America

The Intensity-Time Relation for Multiple Flashes of Light in the Peripheral Retina*†

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Temporal Summation of Positive and Negative Flashes in the Visual System*

Mitsuo Ikeda
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