Influence of artificially generated interocular blur difference on fusion stability under vergence stress

Abstract

The stability of fusion was evaluated by its breakage when interocular blur differences were presented under vergence demand to healthy subjects. We presumed that these blur differences cause suppression of the more blurred image (interocular blur suppression, IOBS), disrupt binocular fusion and suppressed eye leaves its forced vergent position. During dichoptic presentation of static grayscale images of natural scenes, the luminance contrast (mode B) or higher-spatial frequency content (mode C) or luminance contrast plus higher-spatial frequency content (mode A) were stepwise reduced in the image presented to the non-dominant eye. We studied the effect of these types of blur on fusion stability at various levels of the vergence demand. During the divergence demand, the fusion was disrupted  with approximately half blur than during convergence. Various modes  of blur influenced fusion differently. The mode C (isolated reduction of higher-spatial frequency content) violated fusion under the lowest vergence demand significantly more than either isolated or combined reduction of luminance contrast (mode B and A). According to our results, the image´s details (i.e. higher-spatial frequency content) protects binocular fusion from disruption by the lowest vergence demand.