TY - JOUR
T1 - Tuning the Senses
T2 - How the Pupil Shapes Vision at the Earliest Stage
AU - Mathôt, Sebastiaan
PY - 2020/9/15
Y1 - 2020/9/15
N2 - The pupil responds reflexively to changes in brightness and focal distance to maintain the smallest pupil (and thus the highest visual acuity) that still allows sufficient light to reach the retina. The pupil also responds to a wide variety of cognitive processes, but the functions of these cognitive responses are still poorly understood. In this review, I propose that cognitive pupil responses, like their reflexive counterparts, serve to optimize vision. Specifically, an emphasis on central vision over peripheral vision results in pupil constriction, and this likely reflects the fact that central vision benefits most from the increased visual acuity provided by small pupils. Furthermore, an intention to act with a bright stimulus results in preparatory pupil constriction, which allows the pupil to respond quickly when that bright stimulus is subsequently brought into view. More generally, cognitively driven pupil responses are likely a form of sensory tuning: a subtle adjustment of the eyes to optimize their properties for the current situation and the immediate future.
AB - The pupil responds reflexively to changes in brightness and focal distance to maintain the smallest pupil (and thus the highest visual acuity) that still allows sufficient light to reach the retina. The pupil also responds to a wide variety of cognitive processes, but the functions of these cognitive responses are still poorly understood. In this review, I propose that cognitive pupil responses, like their reflexive counterparts, serve to optimize vision. Specifically, an emphasis on central vision over peripheral vision results in pupil constriction, and this likely reflects the fact that central vision benefits most from the increased visual acuity provided by small pupils. Furthermore, an intention to act with a bright stimulus results in preparatory pupil constriction, which allows the pupil to respond quickly when that bright stimulus is subsequently brought into view. More generally, cognitively driven pupil responses are likely a form of sensory tuning: a subtle adjustment of the eyes to optimize their properties for the current situation and the immediate future.
KW - audition
KW - perception
KW - pupil size
KW - pupillometry
KW - sensation
KW - vision
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85092187396&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1146/annurev-vision-030320-062352
DO - 10.1146/annurev-vision-030320-062352
M3 - Review article
AN - SCOPUS:85092187396
VL - 6
SP - 433
EP - 451
JO - Annual Review of Vision Science
JF - Annual Review of Vision Science
SN - 2374-4642
ER -