The aim of this work was to compare contrast sensitivity curves for radial (rCSF) and sine-wave gratings (CSF) stimuli of 0.25, 0.5, 1 and 2 cpd in young and older adults. We measured the contrast thresholds for six young and six older adults using the psychophysical forced-choice staircase method. All were free of ocular diseases and had normal visual acuity. The older adults presented a loss in rCSF and FSC if compared to the young adults. The contrast sensitivity for young and older adults was higher for spatial frequencies (CSF) than radial frequencies (rCSF). These results suggest that these stimuli can be processed by distinct visual areas.
visual perception; contrast sensitivity; human aging; radial and spatial frequency; forced-choice method
