Resolution of static and dynamic stimuli in the peripheral visual field

In a clinical setting, emphasis is given to foveal visual function, and tests generally only utilize static stimuli. In this study, we measured static (SVA) and dynamic visual acuity (DVA) in the central and peripheral visual field on healthy, young emmetropic subjects using stationary and drifting Gabor patches. There were no differences between SVA and DVA in the peripheral visual field; however, SVA was superior to DVA in the fovea for both velocities tested. In addition, there was a clear naso-temporal asymmetry for both SVA and DVA for isoeccentric locations in the visual field beyond 10° eccentricity. The lack of difference in visual acuity between static and dynamic stimuli found in this study may reflect the use of drift-motion as opposed to displacement motion used in previous studies.

► Peripheral static and dynamic visual acuity (SVA and DVA) in emmetropic eyes.
► SVA is better than DVA in the fovea for slowly drifting Gabor patches.
► There exists a clear naso-temporal asymmetry for SVA and DVA beyond 10°.
► We found no difference between SVA and DVA beyond the fovea.