Summary
In psychophysical experiments the brightness and darkness judgements made by human observers to the light and dark phases of suprathreshold square-wave flicker were measured by means of a matching technique and compared across variations in flicker frequency, mean luminance and the depth of luminance modulation of the flicker field. The results are discussed within the context of Jung's theory of the B and D systems, and compared to the results from electrophysiological flicker experiments performed on single on-center and off-center units in the visual system of the cat. In general, where parallel experiments make comparisons possible, good agreement was found between neuronal recordings and perceptual data. A notable exception, however, was that in man the darkness perception corresponding to responses of the neuronal D system (the off-center neurons) seem more strongly affected by variations in flicker frequency than brightness perception corresponding to the neuronal B system (the on-center neurons) while neuronal data from the cat indicate a tendency in the opposite direction. Possible sources of this discrepancy are discussed.
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Magnussen, S., Glad, A. Brightness and darkness enhancement during flicker: Perceptual correlates of neuronal B- and D-systems in human vision. Exp Brain Res 22, 399–413 (1975). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00234674
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00234674