Abstract
Theoretically, the pulsed- and steady-pedestal paradigms are thought to track contrast-increment thresholds (ΔC) as a function of pedestal contrast (C) for the parvocellular (P) and magnocellular (M) systems, respectively, yielding linear ΔC versus C functions for the pulsed- and nonlinear functions for the steady-pedestal paradigm. A recent study utilizing these paradigms to isolate the P and M systems reported no evidence of the M system being suppressed by red light, contrary to previous physiological and psychophysical findings. Curious as to why this may have occurred, we examined how ΔC varies with C for the P and M systems using the pulsed- and steady-pedestal paradigms and stimuli biased towards the P or M systems based on their sensitivity to spatial frequency (SF) and color. We found no effect of color and little influence of SF. To explain this lack of color effects, we used a quantitative model of ΔC (as it changes with C) to obtain Csat and contrast-gain values. The contrast-gain values (i) contradicted the hypothesis that the steady-pedestal paradigm tracks the M-system response, and (ii) our obtained Csat values indicated strongly that both pulsed- and steady-pedestal paradigms track primarily the P-system response.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Alexander, K. R., Barnes, C. S., Fishman, G. A., Pokorny, J., & Smith, V. C. (2004). Contrast sensitivity deficits in inferred magnocellular and parvocellular pathways in retinitis pigmentosa. Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science, 45(12), 4510–4519. https://doi.org/10.1167/iovs.04-0188
Anderson, S. F., Kelley, K., & Maxwell, S. E. (2017). Sample-size planning for more accurate statistical power: A method adjusting sample effect sizes for publication bias and uncertainty. Psychological Science, 28(11), 1547–1562. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797617723724
Archer, D. R., Alitto, H. J., & Usrey, W. M. (2021). Stimulus contrast affects spatial integration in the lateral geniculate nucleus of macaque monkeys. Journal of Neuroscience, 41(29), 6246–6256.
Awasthi, B., Williams, M. A., & Friedman, J. (2016). Examining the role of red background in magnocellular contribution to face perception. PeerJ, 4, e1617. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.1617
Bedwell, J. S., Brown, J. M., & Orem, D. M. (2008). The effect of a red background on location backward masking by structure. Perception & Psychophysics, 70(3), 503–507. https://doi.org/10.3758/pp.70.3.503
Bishop, P., Burke, W., & Davis, R. (1962). The interpretation of the extracellular response of single lateral geniculate cells. The Journal of Physiology, 162(3), 451–472.
Breitmeyer, B. G., & Breier, J. I. (1994). Effects of background color on reaction time to stimuli varying in size and contrast: Inferences about human M channels. Vision Research, 34(8), 1039–1045. https://doi.org/10.1016/0042-6989(94)90008-6
Breitmeyer, B. G., & Ganz, L. (1977). Temporal studies with flashed gratings: Inferences about human transient and sustained channels. Vision Research, 17(7), 861–865.
Breitmeyer, B. G., May, J. G., & Heller, S. S. (1991). Metacontrast reveals asymmetries at red–green isoluminance. Journal of the Optical Society of America A, 8(8), 1324–1329. https://doi.org/10.1364/Josaa.8.001324
Brooks, C. J., Chan, Y. M., Fielding, J., White, O. B., Badcock, D. R., & McKendrick, A. M. (2022). Visual contrast perception in visual snow syndrome reveals abnormal neural gain but not neural noise. Brain, 145(4), 1486–1498.
Brown, J. M., & Plummer, R. (2020). When figure–ground segregation fails: Exploring antagonistic interactions in figure–ground perception. Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics, 82, 3618–3635. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13414-020-02097-w
Carandini, M., & Heeger, D. J. (1994). Summation and division by neurons in primate visual cortex. Science, 264(5163), 1333–1336.
Croner, L. J., & Kaplan, E. (1995). Receptive fields of P and M ganglion cells across the primate retina. Vision Research, 35(1), 7–24.
de Monasterio, F. M., & Schein, S. J. (1980). Protan-like spectral sensitivity of foveal Y ganglion cells of the retina of macaque monkeys. The Journal of physiology, 299(1), 385–396.
Fellows, L. K. (2004). The cognitive neuroscience of human decision making: a review and conceptual framework. Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience Reviews, 3(3), 159–172.
Greenaway, R., Davis, G., & Plaisted-Grant, K. (2013). Marked selective impairment in autism on an index of magnocellular function. Neuropsychologia, 51(4), 592–600.
Hugrass, L., Verhellen, T., Morrall-Earney, E., Mallon, C., & Crewther, D. P. (2018). The effects of red surrounds on visual magnocellular and parvocellular cortical processing and perception. Journal of Vision, 18(4). https://doi.org/10.1167/18.4.8
Kaplan, E., Purpura, K., & Shapley, R. M. (1987). Contrast affects the transmission of visual information through the mammalian lateral geniculate nucleus. The Journal of Physiology, 391(1), 267–288.
Kaplan, E., & Shapley, R. (1984). The origin of the S (slow) potential in the mammalian lateral geniculate nucleus. Experimental Brain Research, 55(1), 111–116.
Kaplan, E., & Shapley, R. M. (1986). The primate retina contains two types of ganglion-cells, with high and low contrast sensitivity. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 83(8), 2755–2757. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.83.8.2755
Kelemen, O., Kiss, I., Benedek, G., & Kéri, S. (2013). Perceptual and cognitive effects of antipsychotics in first-episode schizophrenia: The potential impact of GABA concentration in the visual cortex. Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry, 47, 13–19.
Krawczyk, D. C. (2002). Contributions of the prefrontal cortex to the neural basis of human decision making. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 26(6), 631–664.
Kulikowski, J. J., & Tolhurst, D. J. (1973). Psychophysical evidence for sustained and transient detectors in human vision. Journal of Physiology, 232(1), 149–162. https://doi.org/10.1113/jphysiol.1973.sp010261
Lee, B. B., & Swanson, W. H. (2022). Detection and discrimination of achromatic contrast: A ganglion cell perspective. Journal of Vision, 22(8), 11. https://doi.org/10.1167/jov.22.8.11
Legge, G. E. (1978). Sustained and transient mechanisms in human vision: temporal and spatial properties. Vision Research, 18(1), 69–81. https://doi.org/10.1016/0042-6989(78)90079-2
Leonova, A., Pokorny, J., & Smith, V. C. (2003). Spatial frequency processing in inferred PC- and MC-pathways. Vision Research, 43(20), 2133–2139. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0042-6989(03)00333-X
Levick, W., Cleland, B., & Dubin, M. (1972). Lateral geniculate neurons of cat: retinal inputs and physiology. Investigative Ophthalmology, 11(5), 302–311.
Livingstone, M. S., & Hubel, D. H. (1984). Anatomy and physiology of a color system in the primate visual-cortex. Journal of Neuroscience, 4(1), 309–356. https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.04-01-00309.1984
McAnany, J. J., & Alexander, K. R. (2006). Contrast sensitivity for letter optotypes vs. gratings under conditions biased toward parvocellular and magnocellular pathways. Vision Research, 46(10), 1574–1584. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.visres.2005.08.019
McAnany, J. J., & Levine, M. W. (2007). Magnocellular and parvocellular visual pathway contributions to visual field anisotropies. Vision Research, 47(17), 2327–2336. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.visres.2007.05.013
McKendrick, A. M., Badcock, D. R., & Morgan, W. H. (2004). Psychophysical measurement of neural adaptation abnormalities in magnocellular and parvocellular pathways in glaucoma. Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science, 45(6), 1846–1853.
McKendrick, A. M., Sampson, G. P., Walland, M. J., & Badcock, D. R. (2007). Contrast sensitivity changes due to glaucoma and normal aging: Low-spatial-frequency losses in both magnocellular and parvocellular pathways. Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science, 48(5), 2115–2122. https://doi.org/10.1167/iovs.06-1208
Merigan, W. H., & Maunsell, J. H. (1993). How parallel are the primate visual pathways? Annual Review of Neuroscience, 16(1), 369–402.
Ohzawa, I., Sclar, G., & Freeman, R. (1982). Contrast gain control in the cat visual cortex. Nature, 298(5871), 266–268.
Ohzawa, I., Sclar, G., & Freeman, R. D. (1985). Contrast gain control in the cat’s visual system. Journal of Neurophysiology, 54(3), 651–667.
Peirce, J. W. (2009). Generating stimuli for neuroscience using PsychoPy. Frontiers in Neuroinformatics, 2. https://doi.org/10.3389/neuro.11.010.2008
Pokorny, J. (2011). Review: steady and pulsed pedestals, the how and why of post-receptoral pathway separation. Journal of Vision, 11(5), 1–23. https://doi.org/10.1167/11.5.7
Pokorny, J., & Smith, V. C. (1997). Psychophysical signatures associated with magnocellular and parvocellular pathway contrast gain. Journal of the Optical Society of America A-Optics Image Science and Vision, 14(9), 2477–2486. https://doi.org/10.1364/Josaa.14.002477
Rathbun, D. L., Alitto, H. J., Warland, D. K., & Usrey, W. M. (2016). Stimulus contrast and retinogeniculate signal processing [Original research]. Frontiers in Neural Circuits, 10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fncir.2016.00008
Scholl, B., Latimer, K. W., & Priebe, N. J. (2012). A retinal source of spatial contrast gain control. Journal of Neuroscience, 32(29), 9824–9830.
Sclar, G. (1987). Expression of “retinal” contrast gain control by neurons of the cat’s lateral geniculate nucleus. Experimental Brain Research, 66(3), 589–596.
Sclar, G., Maunsell, J. H. R., & Lennie, P. (1990). Coding of image-contrast in central visual pathways of the macaque monkey. Vision Research, 30(1), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1016/0042-6989(90)90123-3
Sun, H., Swanson, W. H., Arvidson, B., & Dul, M. W. (2008). Assessment of contrast gain signature in inferred magnocellular and parvocellular pathways in patients with glaucoma. Vision Research, 48(26), 2633–2641. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.visres.2008.04.008
Tootell, R. B., Hadjikhani, N. K., Vanduffel, W., Liu, A. K., Mendola, J. D., Sereno, M. I., & Dale, A. M. (1998). Functional analysis of primary visual cortex (V1) in humans. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 95(3), 811–817. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.95.3.811
Tootell, R. B., Hamilton, S. L., & Switkes, E. (1988). Functional anatomy of macaque striate cortex IV Contrast and magno-parvo streams. Journal of Neuroscience, 8(5), 1594–1609. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3367212.
Tootell, R. B., & Nasr, S. (2017). Columnar segregation of magnocellular and parvocellular streams in human extrastriate cortex. Journal of Neuroscience, 37(33), 8014–8032. https://doi.org/10.1523/Jneurosci.0690-17.2017
Watson, A. B., & Pelli, D. G. (1983). Quest—A Bayesian adaptive psychometric method. Perception & Psychophysics, 33(2), 113–120. https://doi.org/10.3758/Bf03202828
Wiesel, T. N., & Hubel, D. H. (1966). Spatial and chromatic interactions in the lateral geniculate body of the rhesus monkey. Journal of Neurophysiology, 29(6), 1115–1156. https://doi.org/10.1152/jn.1966.29.6.1115
Williams, M. C., Breitmeyer, B. G., Lovegrove, W. J., & Gutierrez, C. (1991). Metacontrast with masks varying in spatial frequency and wavelength. Vision Research, 31(11), 2017–2023. https://doi.org/10.1016/0042-6989(91)90196-c
Wilson, H. R. (1980). Spatiotemporal characterization of a transient mechanism in the human visual system. Vision Research, 20(5), 443–452. https://doi.org/10.1016/0042-6989(80)90035-8
Zele, A. J., Pokorny, J., Lee, D. Y., & Ireland, D. (2007). Anisometropic amblyopia: Spatial contrast sensitivity deficits in inferred magnocellular and parvocellular vision. Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science, 48(8), 3622–3631. https://doi.org/10.1167/iovs.06-1207
Zhao, J., Qian, Y., Bi, H.-Y., & Coltheart, M. (2014). The visual magnocellular-dorsal dysfunction in Chinese children with developmental dyslexia impedes Chinese character recognition. Scientific Reports, 4(1), 7068.
Author note
Portions of these findings were presented as a poster at the 2022 the Vision Sciences Society Meeting, St. Pete Beach, Florida, USA. The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request. No funding was received for conducting this study. The authors have no relevant financial or nonfinancial interests to disclose. The experiment was not preregistered.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Song, J., Breitmeyer, B.G. & Brown, J.M. Examining Increment thresholds as a function of pedestal contrast under hypothetical parvo- and magnocellular-biased conditions. Atten Percept Psychophys 86, 213–220 (2024). https://doi.org/10.3758/s13414-023-02819-w
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/s13414-023-02819-w