Cone contributions to signals for accommodation and the relationship to refractive error

The accommodation response is sensitive to the chromatic properties of the stimulus, a sensitivity presumed to be related to making use of the longitudinal chromatic aberration of the eye to decode the sign of the defocus. Thus, the relative sensitivity to the long- (L) and middle-wavelength (M) cones may influence accommodation and may also be related to an individual’s refractive error. Accommodation was measured continuously while subjects viewed a sine wave grating (2.2 c/d) that had different cone contrast ratios. Seven conditions tested loci that form a circle with equal vector length (0.27) at 0, 22.5, 45, 67.5, 90, 120, 145 deg. An eighth condition produced an empty field stimulus (CIE (x,y) co-ordinates (0.4554, 0.3835)). Each of the gratings moved at 0.2 Hz sinusoidally between 1.00 D and 3.00 D for 40 s, while the effects of longitudinal chromatic aberration were neutralized with an achromatizing lens. Both the mean level of accommodation and the gain of the accommodative response, to sinusoidal movements of the stimulus, depended on the relative L and M cone sensitivity: Individuals more sensitive to L-cone stimulation showed a higher level of accommodation (p = 0.01; F = 12.05; ANOVA) and dynamic gain was higher for gratings with relatively more L-cone contrast. Refractive error showed a similar correlation: More myopic individuals showed a higher mean level of accommodation (p < 0.01; F = 11.42; ANOVA) and showed higher gain for gratings with relatively more L-cone than M-cone contrast (p = 0.01; F = 10.83 ANOVA). If luminance contrast is maximized by accommodation, long wavelengths will be imaged behind the photoreceptors. Individuals in whom luminance is dominated by L-cones may maximize luminance contrast both by accommodating more, as shown here, and by increased ocular elongation, resulting in myopia, possibly explaining the correlations reported here among relative L/M-cone sensitivity, refractive error and accommodation.