Spatial Properties of Photophobia
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University of New Hampshire University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository Doctoral Dissertations Student Scholarship Spring 2003 Spatial properties of photophobia James Michael Stringham University of New Hampshire, Durham Follow this and additional works at: https://scholars.unh.edu/dissertation Recommended Citation Stringham, James Michael, "Spatial properties of photophobia" (2003). Doctoral Dissertations. 172. https://scholars.unh.edu/dissertation/172 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Scholarship at University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. 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Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. SPATIAL PROPERTIES OF PHOTOPHOBIA BY JAMES M. STRINGHAM B.S. Arizona State University, 1997 M.A. University of New Hampshire, 2000 DISSERTATION Submitted to the University of New Hampshire in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy In Psychology May, 2003 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UMI Number: 3083743 UMI UMI Microform 3083743 Copyright 2003 by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest Information and Learning Company 300 North Zeeb Road P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. This dissertation has been examined and approved. ]/$a a v\ */V#s Ken Fuld, Professor of Psychology Date Bill Stine, Associate Professor of Psychology Date r Rob Drugan, Associate Professor of Psychology Date i/tfo 3 Winsor Watson, Professor of Zoology Date D. Max Sn6dderly, Professor ofOphtflalmology Medical College of Georgia Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish to thank the members of my dissertation committee for their insightful guidance and helpful suggestions regarding my research project and this manuscript. Michele Stringham and Adam Wenzel were subjects for this research, and for this I owe them both a debt of gratitude. Lastly I thank my graduate mentor, Ken Fuld, for his subtly skillful guidance of me throughout my graduate career. He is an exemplar of professorship. iii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS...............................................................................iii LIST OF FIGURES............................................................................................vi ABSTRACT.................................................................................................... viii CHAPTER PAGE INTRODUCTION..............................................................................................1 I. STIMULUS AREA, ENERGY, AND THRESHOLD PHOTOPHOBIA 6 H. ASSESSMENT OF THRESHOLD PHOTOPHOBIA IN THE PARAFOVEA..............................................................................................11 HI. PHOTOPHOBIA AND RETINAL ECCENTRICITY................................13 IV. THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION OF MACULAR PIGMENT AND SPATIAL CHARACTERISTICS OF PHOTOPHOBIA.................................................................................. 14 V. METHODS (EXPERIMENTS I-III).............................................................18 Subjects..............................................................................................................18 Apparatus...........................................................................................................18 Procedure ...........................................................................................................19 VL METHODS (EXPERIMENT IV)............................................................... 24 Subjects............................................................................................................. 24 Apparatus.......................................................................................................... 24 Procedure .......................................................................................................... 24 VH. RESULTS.................................................................................................28 Experiment 1..................................................................................................... 28 iv Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Experiment II .....................................................................................................31 Experiment HI .................................................................................................... 32 Experiment IV .................................................................................................... 34 VIE. DISCUSSION.......................................................................................... 37 Photophobia, spatial summation, and macular pigment ..................................... 37 A visual pathway for photophobia ......................................................................42 Adaptation level and photophobia ......................................................................47 DC. CONCLUSIONS........................................................................................ 49 REFERENCES..................................................................................................52 v Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Action spectra for photophobia (J.S. & A.W.) corrected for macular pigment & ocular media absorption, normalized at 500nm, compared to Ham, et al. (1976) [1000 sec. exposure]. From Stringham et al. (2003, in press). Page 3. Figure 2: Photophobia action spectra for each subject in Stringham et al. (2003—J.S., A.W., and N.K.). Peak sensitivities are normalized to zero. Page 14. Figure 3: Spectral emittance of xenon-arc lamp, compared to xenon passed through orange filter, and compared to macular pigment absorbance. Page 19. Figure 4: Stimulus configuration for Experiment I. Test stimuli range from 5.6° to 28.31°. Page 20. Figure 5: Stimulus configuration for Experiment II. Page 20. Figure 6: Stimulus configuration for Experiment HI. Page 21. Figure 7: A. Chart recorder. Top panel: Photocell output (amplitude spikes correspond to onset and termination of test stimulus presentation). Bottom panel: Typical threshold photophobia squint response. Note startle response (a) with ensuing brief refractory period, followed by continuous squint (b). Each thick line denotes 1 second. B. Computer-based recording. Top panel: Typical threshold photophobia squint response. Bottom panel: spike corresponding to onset and termination of test stimulus. Page 23. Figure 8: Schematic of the stimulus used for the heterochromatic flicker photometry task in Experiment IV. Page 25. Figure 9: Log relative radiance thresholds for photophobia to xenon-white light plotted as a function of log stimulus area (degrees2). Stimulus diameters (in degrees of visual angle) are noted near data points. Page 28. Figure 10: Subjects’ averaged data of log relative radiance thresholds for photophobia to xenon-white light plotted as a function of log stimulus area (degrees2). Stimulus diameters (in degrees of visual angle) are noted near data points. Page 29. Figure 11: Subjects’ averaged data of log relative radiance thresholds for photophobia to xenon-white light plotted as a function of log stimulus area (degrees2). Linear-fit slopes for the first four data points and points 5-7 are plotted for comparison. Page 29. Figure 12: Log relative radiance thresholds for photophobia to orange light plotted as a function of log stimulus area (degrees2). Stimulus diameters (in degrees of visual angle) are noted near data points. Page 30. vi Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction