Scotopic contrast sensitivity in infants evaluated by evoked potentials.

The contrast sensitivity function of infants 2 1/2 to 6 months old has been obtained at mean luminances of 6 and 0.06 cd/m2 by recording visual evoked potentials in response to simusoidal gratings of various spatial frequencies alternating in phase at 8 Hz. The scotopic contrast sensitivity develops earlier than the photopic contrast sensitivity, reaching values very close to those of the adult between 4 and 5 months of age. This suggests that mechanisms responsible for adaptive changes of receptive field organization from night to day vision are not yet mature at this age.