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Abstract:
The human pupillary response in one eye can be controlled by monocular light stimulation to either of the eyes. If both eyes are stimulated simultaneously the pupil reaction depeneds upon some combination of the signals originating in both eyes. Characteristic differences between the reactions to monocular and simultaneous binocular stimuli can yield information regarding the type of underlying neural interaction processes as well as the succession of neural events along the pupillomotor pathway. Qualitative comparison of the pupil reactions to monocular and binocular stimulation of sinusoidally varying intensity leads to the conclusion 1) that addition of the signals originating in both eyes occurs, and 2) that only linear transformation of the signals may take place after the addition. However, the quantitative relationship between the reactions to monocular and simultaneous binocular stimuli cannot be explained on the basis of this simple model; Data on pupil reactions to both sinusoidally modulated and flash light stimuli suggest that a mutual inhibition of the signals in the two optic nerves occurs before the addition of the signals.
