Human cyclovergence as a function of stimulus frequency and amplitude

By the use of scleral search coils a continuous record of human cyclovergence was obtained while two identical 80 degrees textured patterns, presented dichoptically, oscillated in the frontal plane in counterphase through 1, 3 and 6 degrees of cyclorotation at frequencies between 0.05 and 2 Hz. The amplitude and gain of the response decreased exponentially with increasing stimulus frequency. As stimulus amplitude increased, response amplitude also increased but gain was highest for low-amplitude cyclorotations. For an amplitude of 1 degrees and a frequency of 0.05 Hz the gain reached 0.87 for two subjects. The phase lag increased from a few degrees at a frequency of 0.05 Hz to over 100 degrees at a frequency of 2 Hz. These results suggest that cyclovergence is designed to correct for small, slow drifts in the stereoscopic alignment of the images in the two eyes. Although the disparity in the textured display was not interpreted as slant, it provided a strong stimulus for cyclovergence. The cyclovergence caused a transfer of cyclodisparity into a superimposed vertical line, which was then perceived as slanting in depth.