We examined 3-mo.-old human infants' ability to detect flicker in 454-nm blue and 627-nm red lights at 1.5 log cd/m2. Infants showed the same critical flicker frequency (CFF) to both wavelengths, suggesting that retinal cones mediate the detection of flicker at this luminance level. Infants' CFFs for chromatic stimuli were much lower than those reported for achromatic stimuli and also much lower than adults' CFFs tested under the same conditions.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AdamsR. J. (1989) Newborns’ discrimination among mid- and long-wavelength stimuli. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 47, 130–144.
2.
HechtS.ShlaerS. (1936) Intermittent stimulation by light. The relation between intensity and critical frequency for different parts of the spectrum. Journal of General Physiology, 19, 965–979.
3.
HeckJ.ZetterstromB. (1958) Analyse des photoptischen flimmer Elektroretinogramms bei Neugeborenen. Ophthalmology, 135, 205–210.
Moscowitz-CookA. (1979) The development of photopic spectral sensitivity in human infants. Vision Research, 20, 1133–1142.
6.
PackerO.HartmannE. E.TellerD. Y. (1984) Infant color vision: The effect of test field size on infants’ Rayleigh discrimination. Vision Research, 24, 1247–1256.
7.
RegalD. (1981) Development of critical flicker frequency in human infants. Vision Research, 21, 549–555.
