ArticleJournal of vision2020
Development of the spatial contrast sensitivity function (CSF) during childhood: Analysis of previous findings and new psychophysical data.
Article in Journal of vision, 2020. 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.
- Curvature tuning in areas V2 and V4 of the developing macaque.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Using Steady-State Visual Evoked Potentials to Characterize Wide-Ranging Retinopathy Linked toComputational and structural biotechnology journal · 2026Article
- Correlation Between Quantitative Contrast Sensitivity Function and Spherical Equivalent Under Uncorrected and Corrected Conditions in Children with Ametropia.Clinical ophthalmology (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2026Article
- Visual field asymmetries develop throughout adolescence.iScience · 2025Article
- Binocular Contrast Sensitivity Function in Children With Anisometropic Amblyopia.Investigative ophthalmology & visual science · 2025Article
- Neural Control of Vergence and Ocular Accommodation.Annual review of vision science · 2025Review
- Correlation of contrast sensitivity at low spatial frequencies with myopic shift in Chinese children.BMC ophthalmology · 2025Article
- Modeling neural contrast sensitivity functions in human visual cortex.Imaging neuroscience (Cambridge, Mass.) · 2025Article
- Assessing Contrast Sensitivity Function in CRB1-Retinopathies: Exploring Child-Friendly Measures of Visual Function.Translational vision science & technology · 2024Article
- Developmentally stable representations of naturalistic image structure in macaque visual cortex.Cell reports · 2024Article
- Developmentally stable representations of naturalistic image structure in macaque visual cortex.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2024Article
- Empirical validation of QUEST+ in PSE and JND estimations in visual discrimination tasks.Behavior research methods · 2023Article
- Perceptual Center-Surround Contrast Suppression in Adolescence.Investigative ophthalmology & visual science · 2023Article
- The impact of eye dominance on fixation stability in school-aged children.Journal of eye movement research · 2023Article
- Evaluation of the SpotChecks contrast sensitivity test in children.Ophthalmic & physiological optics : the journal of the British College of Ophthalmic Opticians (Optometrists) · 2023Article
- Visual Acuity and Contrast Sensitivity in Preterm and Full-Term Children Using a Novel Digital Test.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
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Abstract
Although the contrast sensitivity function (CSF) changes markedly during infancy, there is no consensus regarding whether, how, and why it continues to develop in later childhood. Here, we analyzed previously published data (N = 1928 CSFs), and present new psychophysical findings from 98 children (4.7-14.8 years) and 50 adults (18.1-29.7 years), in order to answer the following questions: (1) Does the CSF change during childhood? (2) How large is the developmental effect size? (3) Are any changes uniform across the CSF, or frequency-specific? and (4) Can some or all of the changes be explained by "non-visual" (i.e. procedural/cognitive) factors, such as boredom or inattentiveness? The new data were collected using a four-alternative forced-choice (4AFC) Gabor-detection task, with two different psychophysical procedures (Weighted Staircase; QUEST+), and suprathreshold (false-negative) catch trials to quantify lapse rates. It is shown that from ages 4 to 18 years, the CSF improves (at an exponentially decaying rate) by approximately 0.3 log10 units (a doubling of contrast sensitivity [CS]), with 90% of this change complete by 12 years of age. The size of the effect was small relative to individual variability, with age alone explaining less than one sixth of variability (16%), and most children performing as well as some adults (i.e. falling within the 90% population limits for adults). Development was frequency-specific, with changes occurring primarily around or below the CSF peak (≤ 4 cpd). At least half - and potentially all - of the changes observed could be explained by non-visual factors (e.g. lapses in concentration), although possible biological mechanisms are discussed.
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