Peripheral vision
Peripheral vision, or indirect vision, is vision as it occurs outside the point of fixation, i.e. away from the center of gaze or, when viewed at large angles, in (or out of) the "corner of one's eye". The vast majority of the area in the visual field is included in the notion of peripheral vision. "Far peripheral" vision refers to the area at the edges of the visual field, "mid-peripheral" vision refers to medium eccentricities, and "near-peripheral", sometimes referred to as "para-central" vision, exists adjacent to the center of gaze.[1]
Boundaries
Inner boundaries
The inner boundaries of peripheral vision can be defined in any of several ways depending on the context. In everyday language the term "peripheral vision" is often used to refer to what in technical usage would be called "far peripheral vision." This is vision outside of the range of stereoscopic vision. It can be conceived as bounded at the center by a circle 60° in radius or 120° in diameter, centered around the fixation point, i.e., the point at which one's gaze is directed.
The fovea is a cone-shaped depression in the central retina measuring 1.5 mm in diameter, corresponding[5] to 5° of the visual field.[6] The outer boundaries of the fovea are visible under a microscope, or with microscopic imaging technology such as OCT or microscopic MRI. When viewed through the pupil, as in an eye exam (using an ophthalmoscope or retinal photography), only the central portion of the fovea may be visible. Anatomists refer to this as the clinical fovea, and say that it corresponds to the anatomical foveola, a structure with a diameter of 0.35 mm corresponding to 1 degree of the visual field. In clinical usage the central part of the fovea is typically referred to simply as the fovea.[7][8][9]
In terms of visual acuity, "
A ring-shaped region surrounding the fovea, known as the parafovea, is sometimes taken to represent an intermediate form of vision called paracentral vision.[10] The parafovea has an outer diameter of 2.5 mm representing 8° of the visual field.[11][12]
The
A dividing line between near and mid peripheral vision at 30° radius can be based on several features of visual performance. Visual acuity declines systematically up to 30° eccentricity: At 2°, acuity is half the foveal value, at 4° one-third, at 6° one-fourth etc. At 30°, it is one-sixteenth the foveal value.[21][1] From thereon the decline is steeper.[22][23] (Note that it would be wrong to say, the value were halved every 2°, as said in some textbooks or in previous versions of this article.) [16] Color perception is strong at 20° but weak at 40°.[24] In dark-adapted vision, light sensitivity corresponds to rod density,[citation needed] which peaks just at 18°. From 18° towards the center, rod density declines rapidly. From 18° away from the center, rod density declines more gradually, in a curve with distinct inflection points resulting in two humps. The outer edge of the second hump is at about 30°, and corresponds to the outer edge of good night vision.[25][26][27]
Outer boundaries
The outer boundaries of peripheral vision correspond to the boundaries of the visual field as a whole. For a single eye, the extent of the visual field can be (roughly) defined in terms of four angles, each measured from the fixation point, i.e., the point at which one's gaze is directed. These angles, representing four cardinal directions, are 60° upwards, 60° nasally (towards the nose), 70–75° downwards, and 100–110° temporally (away from the nose and towards the temple).[29][28][30][31][32][33] For both eyes the combined visual field is 130–135° vertically[34][35] and 200–220° horizontally.[28][36][33]
Characteristics
The loss of peripheral vision while retaining central vision is known as
Peripheral vision is weak in humans, especially at distinguishing detail, color, and shape. This is because the density of receptor and ganglion cells in the retina is greater at the center and lowest at the edges, and, moreover, the representation in the visual cortex is much smaller than that of the fovea[1] (see visual system for an explanation of these concepts). The distribution of receptor cells across the retina is different between the two main types, rod cells and cone cells. Rod cells are unable to distinguish color and peak in density in the near periphery (at 18° eccentricity), while cone cell density is highest in the very center, the fovea. Note that this does not mean that there is a lack of cones representing in the periphery; colors can be distinguished in peripheral vision.[37]
Flicker fusion thresholds decline towards the periphery, but do that at a lower rate than other visual functions; so the periphery has a relative advantage at noticing flicker.[1] Peripheral vision is also relatively good at detecting motion (a feature of Magno cells).
Central vision is relatively weak in the dark (scotopic vision) since cone cells lack sensitivity at low light levels. Rod cells, which are concentrated further away from the fovea, operate better than cone cells in low light. This makes peripheral vision useful for detecting faint light sources at night (like faint stars). Because of this, pilots are taught to use peripheral vision to scan for aircraft at night. [citation needed]
The distinctions between
Functions
The main functions of peripheral vision are:[38]
- recognition of well-known structures and forms with no need to focus by the foveal line of sight
- identification of similar forms and movements (Gestalt psychology laws)
- delivery of sensations which form the background of detailed visual perception
Extreme peripheral vision
When viewed at large angles, the iris and pupil appear to be rotated toward the viewer due to the optical refraction in the cornea. As a result, the pupil may still be visible at angles greater than 90°.[41][42][43]
Cone-rich rim of the retina
The rim of the retina contains a large concentration of cone cells. The retina extends farthest in the superior-nasal 45° quadrant (in the direction from the pupil to the bridge of the nose) with the greatest extent of the visual field in the opposite direction, the inferior temporal 45° quadrant (from the pupil of either eye towards the bottom of the nearest ear). Vision at this extreme part of the visual field is thought to be possibly concerned with threat detection, measuring optical flow, color constancy, or circadian rhythm.[44][45][46]
See also
References
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