Summary
This study demonstrates that when corneal flux density is held constant, pupil diameter does not change as stimulus field size increases up to at least 24° diameter under both mesopic and photopic conditions. For lighting designers, this suggests that the pupillary response is driven by total light flux reaching the cornea rather than the angular subtense of the light source, which has implications for predicting physiological responses to different luminaire configurations.
Key Findings
- Pupil diameter remains constant as stimulus field size increases up to at least 24° diameter when corneal flux density is held constant.
- This null effect of field size on pupil diameter holds across both mesopic and photopic lighting levels.
Categories
The Science of Light: Investigates pupillary light reflex behavior across different field sizes and lighting levels, relevant to understanding how spatial extent of light exposure affects pupil diameter — a key physiological response to light.
Author(s)
DA Atchison, CC Girgenti, GM Campbell
Publication Year
2011
Number of Citations
45
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