Comparison of contrast thresholds of large bars and checks measured by VECPs and psychophysically as a function of defocusing

The effects of defocusing the image on the contrast threshold were studied both for checkerboard and bar patterns at various low spatial frequencies, and comparison was made between psychophysical results and visually evoked cortical potentials (VECPs) results. VECP threshold was defined as the contrast necessary for obtaining a criterion amplitude of 5 muV. When increasing the degree of defocusing, the lowest contrast threshold shifted towards larger checks or bars, the contrast threshold increased more abruptly for smaller sizes, and the VECP contrast thresholds increased more than the psychophysical ones, especially for smaller sizes. No significant difference was found in the contrast thresholds between the results with bar patterns and checkerboard patterns, except that for bars, the VECP threshold as defined was approx. 0.2 log units higher than those for checkerboard.