ArticleCurrent biology : CB2011
The dynamic range of human lightness perception.
Article in Current biology : CB, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers.
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Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed.
- Efficient measurements for the dynamic range of human lightness perception.Japanese journal of ophthalmology · 2021Trial
- Topography of Photophobia: Perifoveal Sensitivity Associations in Glaucoma.Investigative ophthalmology & visual science · 2026Article
- Increased brightness assimilation in rod vision.iScience · 2025Article
- The Reality of a Head-Mounted Display (HMD) Environment Tested via Lightness Perception.Journal of imaging · 2024Article
- Parabolic achromatic color matching functions: Dependence on incremental and decremental luminance.Journal of the Optical Society of America. A, Optics, image science, and vision · 2023Article
- Perceived contrast on displays with different luminance ranges.Medical physics · 2022Article
- Abrupt darkening under high dynamic range (HDR) luminance invokes facilitation for high-contrast targets and grouping by luminance similarity.Journal of vision · 2020Article
- Article
- Layer and framework theories of lightness.Attention, perception & psychophysics · 2019Review
- A muscle-activity-dependent gain between motor cortex and EMG.Journal of neurophysiology · 2019Article
- Evaluation of low-contrast perceptibility in dental restorative materials under the influence of ambient light conditions.Dento maxillo facial radiology · 2015Article
- Scaling measurements of the effect of surface slant on perceived lightness.i-Perception · 2014Article
- A Bayesian model of lightness perception that incorporates spatial variation in the illumination.Journal of vision · 2013Article
- Depth effect on lightness revisited: The role of articulation, proximity and fields of illumination.i-Perception · 2013Article
- Lightness perception in high dynamic range images: local and remote luminance effects.Journal of vision · 2012Article
- Article
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4 authors.
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Abstract
Natural viewing challenges the visual system with images that have a dynamic range of light intensity (luminance) that can approach 1,000,000:1 and that often exceeds 10,000:1 [1, 2]. The range of perceived surface reflectance (lightness), however, can be well approximated by the Munsell matte neutral scale (N 2.0/ to N 9.5/), consisting of surfaces whose reflectance varies by about 30:1. Thus, the visual system must map a large range of surface luminance onto a much smaller range of surface lightness. We measured this mapping in images with a dynamic range close to that of natural images. We studied simple images that lacked segmentation cues that would indicate multiple regions of illumination. We found a remarkable degree of compression: at a single image location, a stimulus luminance range of 5,905:1 can be mapped onto an extended lightness scale that has a reflectance range of 100:1. We characterized how the luminance-to-lightness mapping changes with stimulus context. Our data rule out theories that predict perceived lightness from luminance ratios or Weber contrast. A mechanistic model connects our data to theories of adaptation and provides insight about how the underlying visual response varies with context.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.