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Visual discomfort for flickering sinusoids is not predicted by the spatio-temporal contrast sensitivity function
Paul B Hibbard1, Jordi M Asher1, Louise O'Hare2
1University of Stirling, Department of Psychology, Stirling, FK9 4LA, Scotland, UK; University of Essex, Department of Psychology, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester, CO4 3SQ, Essex, UK.
Vision Research
|November 15, 2025
Summary
Visual discomfort from flickering stimuli is not predicted by contrast sensitivity. High spatial and temporal frequencies, especially at 16 Hz, caused the most discomfort, challenging existing models.
Area of Science:
- Vision Science
- Neuroscience
- Perception
Background:
- Visual discomfort is an aversive response to specific visual stimuli.
- It is often associated with flickering and repetitive patterns.
- The contrast sensitivity function (CSF) was hypothesized to predict visual discomfort levels.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the spatio-temporal tuning of visual discomfort.
- To compare visual discomfort responses to predictions from the CSF.
Main Methods:
- Evaluated visual discomfort using flickering sinusoidal stimuli.
- Varied spatial and temporal frequencies of the stimuli.
- Assessed subjective ratings of discomfort.
Main Results:
- Discomfort increased with spatial frequency for static stimuli but decreased at 16 Hz.
- Discomfort increased with temporal frequency across all spatial frequencies.
- Highly flickering (16 Hz) and spatially uniform stimuli elicited the greatest discomfort.
Conclusions:
- Visual discomfort for high-contrast stimuli is not accurately predicted by the CSF.
- Findings align with efficient coding models and physiological measures of cortical responses.
- Threshold-level visual sensitivity does not reliably predict visual discomfort.
