Visual Compensatory Tracking Performance after Exposure to Flashblinding Pulses. I. Comparison of Human and Rhesus Monkey Subjects
Abstract
To assess the validity of using macaques as human analogues in further flash-blindness studies, three rhesus monkeys and eight human subjects were exposed to identical flashblinding light pulses while performing identical visual compensatory tracking tasks. The light source was a 3400-K tungsten- halogen lamp; optics and shutter were arranged so that a 0.1-sec flash deposited a total energy of 20.7 micro J over a 3-mm-diameter spot on the retina. Flashblindness recovery time was determined by examining the tracking error trace immediately after treatment. A total of 160 human and 97 rhesus treatments were recorded. Average recovery time for the humans was 2.8 + or - 0.6 sec; for the rhesus, 3.2 + or - 1.1 sec. This close agreement was found in spite of different tracking control strategies used by human and rhesus subjects. Rhesus monkeys were judged acceptable as human analogues for this specific type of testing.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 01, 1981
- Accession Number
- ADB056770
Entities
People
- Grant D. Callin
- James V. Devine
- Paul Garcia
Organizations
- University of Texas at El Paso