Journal of Vision - Role of high-order aberrations in senescent changes in spatial vision, by Elliott, Choi, Doble, Hardy, Evans, & Werner

Sarah L. Elliott	Department of Ophthalmology & Vision Science, University of California, Davis, CA, USA, & Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
Stacey S. Choi	Department of Ophthalmology & Vision Science, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
Nathan Doble	Iris AO Inc., Berkeley, CA, USA
Joseph L. Hardy	Posit Science Corporation, San Francisco, CA, USA
Julia W. Evans	Department of Ophthalmology & Vision Science, University of California, Davis, CA, USA, & Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA, USA
John S. Werner	Department of Ophthalmology & Vision Science, University of California, Davis, CA, USA, & Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, CA, USA

The contributions of optical and neural factors to age-related losses in spatial vision are not fully understood. We used closed-loop adaptive optics to test the visual benefit of correcting monochromatic high-order aberrations (HOAs) on spatial vision for observers ranging in age from 18 to 81 years. Contrast sensitivity was measured monocularly using a two-alternative forced-choice (2AFC) procedure for sinusoidal gratings over 6 mm and 3 mm pupil diameters. Visual acuity was measured using a spatial 4AFC procedure. Over a 6 mm pupil, young observers showed a large benefit of AO at high spatial frequencies, whereas older observers exhibited the greatest benefit at middle spatial frequencies, plus a significantly larger increase in visual acuity. When age-related miosis is controlled, young and old observers exhibited a similar benefit of AO for spatial vision. An increase in HOAs cannot account for the complete senescent decline in spatial vision. These results may indicate a larger role of additional optical factors when the impact of HOAs is removed, but also lend support for the importance of neural factors in age-related changes in spatial vision.