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Rapid Adaptation of Night Vision.
Adam Reeves1, Rebecca Grayhem2, Alex D Hwang3
1Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, United States.
Frontiers in Psychology
|February 8, 2018
Summary
Human night vision and daylight vision adapt rapidly to light changes, within 0.6 seconds. This rapid adaptation allows visibility of monochrome images even with sudden glare, challenging previous assumptions about slow visual adaptation.
Area of Science:
- Vision Science
- Human Physiology
- Photoreceptor Physiology
Background:
- Human rod-mediated vision is known for poor color discrimination and acuity.
- Previous research suggested slow adaptation of night vision (up to 40 min) and daylight vision (2 min).
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the speed of visual adaptation to changing light levels.
- To determine if rapid visual adaptation occurs at mesopic light levels.
Main Methods:
- Experimental investigation of human visual adaptation.
- Measurement of adaptation time to abrupt changes in light intensity and glare.
Main Results:
- Most visual adaptation occurs rapidly, within 0.6 seconds.
- This rapid adaptation is observed even under mesopic (low light) conditions.
- Monochrome images are visible very quickly after light level or glare changes.
Conclusions:
- Contrary to previous beliefs, human visual adaptation to light is predominantly fast.
- Rapid adaptation enables quick perception of visual information in dynamic lighting, such as driving at night.
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