The age deficit on photopic counterphase flicker: contrast, spatial frequency, and luminance effects

This study evaluated the contribution of reduced contrast sensitivity and retinal illuminance to the age-related deficit on the temporal resolution of suprathreshold spatial stimuli. The discrimination of counterphase flicker was measured in optimally refracted young and elderly observers for sinusoidal gratings of three spatial frequencies (1, 4, and 8 cycles per degree) at three contrast levels (0.11, 0.33, and 0.66). Age deficits in flicker discrimination at the two higher contrast levels and at the two lower spatial frequencies were unrelated to observer contrast sensitivity. Flicker discrimination of young observers who carried out the task through .5 ND filters to simulate a two-thirds reduction of retinal illuminance in the older eye, was similar to that of the elderly observers. An age-related reduction in retinal luminance appears to be a major determinant of the age-related spatiotemporal deficit at suprathreshold contrast levels, although neural factors may also be involved.