Neural interpretation of optical blur and its impact on image quality perception

Conferencia invitada ; ARVO 2016 Annual Meeting, Seattle, WA, May 1-5, 2016We studied neural adaptation to the native optical blur, using adaptive optics which allows manipulating the optical aberrations of the eye in subjects. In particular we presented images with different blur levels bypassing the optics of the eye and found that the blur of the best perceived image in the series matched the native optical blur of the eye. Also, pairs of images with same blur level than the eye, but different blur orientation were presented, and the subject indicated the best perceived images from each pair. The average blur (weighted Point Spread Function) for positive and negative responses were obtained, with the positive closely matching the shape of the optical PSF, while the negative being generally orthogonal. The internal code for blur (both in magnitude and orientation) was identical for both eyes of the subject, even when the optical blurred differed, and was driven by the eye with better optical quality. These results indicate that each subject is neurally adapted to their own aberration pattern (or that of the better eye), and therefore image quality perception critically determined by the subject's habitual experience of blur.Peer Reviewe