Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42347570›Full record

ReviewVision (Basel, Switzerland)2026

A Cerebral Basis for Visual Discomfort and Visual Stress.

Paul B Hibbard, Peter Allen, Jordi M Asher, Katherine Batey, Beverley Burke, Jason J Braithwaite, Geoff G Cole, Caelan Dow, Bruce J W Evans, Anna Franklin and 22 more

Abstract readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Vision (Basel, Switzerland), 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

32 authors.

Paul B HibbardSchool of Psychology, University of Stirling, Stirling FK9 4LA, UK.ORCID 0000-0001-6133-6729
Peter AllenVision and Hearing Sciences, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge CB1 1PT, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-4536-7215
Jordi M AsherSchool of Psychology, University of Stirling, Stirling FK9 4LA, UK.ORCID 0000-0003-4115-9715
Katherine BateyVision Though Colour, Newcastle upon Tyne NE3 3PF, UK.
Beverley BurkeSchool of Psychological Sciences, Birkbeck, University of London, London WC1E 7HX, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-4164-297X
Jason J BraithwaitePsychology Department, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YF, UK.
Geoff G ColeDepartment of Psychology, University of Essex, Colchester CO4 3SQ, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-9745-3916
Caelan DowSchool of Psychology, University of Stirling, Stirling FK9 4LA, UK.ORCID 0009-0006-3061-1584
Bruce J W EvansDepartment of Optometry and Visual Science, City St George's, University of London, London EC1V 0HB, UK.
Anna FranklinSussex Colour Group & Baby Lab, School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9RH, UK.
Sarah M HaighDepartment of Psychology, University of Nevada, Reno, NV 89557, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-2400-4412
Hillevi HemphäläDivision of Ergonomics and Aerosol Technology, Institution of Design Sciences, Lund University, P.O. Box 118, 221 00 Lund, Sweden.ORCID 0000-0003-1206-2172
Ian HoskingDepartment of Engineering, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1PZ, UK.ORCID 0000-0001-9342-4045
Andrew KeyesVision Though Colour, Newcastle upon Tyne NE3 3PF, UK.
Chan-Su LeeSchool of Electronic Engineering, Communication Engineering & Computer Science, Yeungnam University, Gyeongsan-si 38541, Gyeongsangbuk-do, Republic of Korea.ORCID 0000-0001-9606-0646
Ute LeonardsSchool of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TU, UK.ORCID 0000-0001-6143-7466
Cathy ManningSchool of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK.
John MauleSchool of Psychology, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9QH, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-0627-4139
Naomi MillerPacific Northwest National Laboratory, Portland, OR 97204, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-5652-0174
Karen MonetOpticalm Visual Stress Clinic, Kanata South Business Park, 150 Terence Matthews Crescent, Suite A2 2nd Floor, Ottawa, ON K2M 1X4, Canada.
Louise O'HareSchool of Social Sciences, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham NG1 5LT, UK.
Olivier PenacchioBridging Research in AI and Neuroscience, Computer Vision Center, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain.ORCID 0000-0002-1544-2405
Gordon T PlantDepartment of Translational Neuroscience and Stroke, University College London, London WC1N 3BG, UK.
Georgie PowellSchool of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF10 3AT, UK.ORCID 0000-0001-6793-0446
Alice PriceSchool of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF10 3AT, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-8577-7294
Andrew J SchofieldDepartment of Psychology, Aston University, Birmingham B4 7ET, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-0589-4678
Miroslav SloukaDepartment of Telecommunications, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, VSB-Technical University of Ostrava, 17. Listopadu 15/2172, 708 33 Ostrava, Czech Republic.ORCID 0000-0001-6938-2877
Petroc SumnerCardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF24 4HQ, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-0536-0510
Cleo ValentineDepartment of Architecture, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1PX, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-7814-1511
Thomas WilcocksonSchool of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences, Loughborough University, Loughborough LE11 3TU, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-7944-2674
Sanae YoshimotoGraduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Hiroshima University, Higashihiroshima 739-8521, Japan.ORCID 0000-0003-4936-1563
Arnold J WilkinsDepartment of Psychology, University of Essex, Colchester CO4 3SQ, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-9322-0461

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Visual discomfort or visual stress is an uncomfortable subjective experience that occurs in response to specific visual stimuli. It affects a large proportion of the population to various degrees, disproportionately impacting those with heightened sensory sensitivities, particularly neurodivergent individuals. We argue that this might stem from a mismatch between the statistical properties of visual stimuli in human-made environments and those in natural environments that the visual system can process efficiently. We discuss the inefficiency with which images with certain spatial, chromatic and temporal characteristics are processed by the visual system and propose a cerebral mechanism to account for the discomfort they induce. The mechanism offers a potential explanation for the large individual differences in susceptibility to discomfort. We highlight two avenues for intervention: (1) environmental modifications aimed at reducing the prevalence of visually stressing stimuli in urban settings, and (2) individual-level strategies, such as personalised optical treatments. Addressing these challenges requires an interdisciplinary effort bridging neuroscience, vision science, interior and urban design and typography to create visually accessible and inclusive environments.

Indexed as

cortical excitationefficient encodingflickerimage statisticslightingphantom arrayprecision tintssensory sensitivityvisual discomfortvisual stress

Identifiers

PMID42347570
PMCPMC13307613

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.