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The effect of accommodation on retinal image size.
1Department of Optometry, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia.
Human Factors
|June 1, 1992
Summary
Accommodation micropsia, the apparent shrinking of objects when the eye accommodates, is not caused by optical changes. Our study shows retinal image size changes are too small to explain this visual perception phenomenon.
Area of Science:
- Ophthalmology
- Visual Perception
- Optical Physics
Background:
- Accommodation micropsia describes the perceived reduction in object size during eye accommodation.
- Previous theories suggested optical changes within the eye contribute to this phenomenon.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of optical changes in accommodation micropsia.
- To quantify the change in retinal image size due to accommodation.
Main Methods:
- Utilized schematic eye models to simulate changes in accommodation.
- Calculated the resulting retinal image size variations across different accommodative states.
Main Results:
- Retinal image size reduction was minimal, reaching a maximum of 2% at 12.0 diopters.
- At typical observation distances (2.0 D), retinal minification was less than 0.3%.
Conclusions:
- Optical changes in the eye's optics are negligible contributors to accommodation micropsia.
- Accommodation micropsia is primarily mediated by non-optical visual processing mechanisms.