Human Polarization Sensitivity

McGregor, Juliette E.; Temple, Shelby E.; Horváth, Gábor

doi:10.1007/978-3-642-54718-8_14

Cited by 18 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…In blue light the Haidinger's brushes become clearer, and it is thought that the yellow colour a person sees under full-spectrum illumination is a psychophysical effect of the eye where yellow is perceived when there is an absence of blue [1,2]. Thus, our study was restricted to this part of the spectrum.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…If the human eye is stimulated by linearly polarized light, two 8-shaped bowtie-like figures are perceived [1,2]: (i) blue brushes parallel to the direction of polarization of the stimulus and (ii) yellow brushes perpendicular to the direction of polarization (figure 1 a ). These two 8-shaped figures combine to form a Maltese cross shape.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, in the latter cases the d of skylight can be so low [8–11] that it falls below the perception threshold d * of Haidinger's brushes. The brushes have the best contrast when d approaches 100%, for instance looking at a white area on a liquid crystal computer monitor, which employs a linear polarizer as part of the image-forming technology [2,12].

Figure 1.Principle of the sky-polarimetric Viking navigation on the basis of Haidinger's brushes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Celestial polarization patterns sufficient for Viking navigation with the naked eye: detectability of Haidinger's brushes on the sky versus meteorological conditions

et al. 2017

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If a human looks at the clear blue sky from which light with high enough degree of polarization d originates, an 8-shaped bowtie-like figure, the yellow Haidinger's brush can be perceived, the long axis of which points towards the sun. A band of high d arcs across the sky at 90° from the sun. A person can pick two points on that band, observe the yellow brushes and triangulate the position of the sun based on the orientation of the two observed brushes. This method has been suggested to have been used on the open sea by Viking navigators to determine the position of the invisible sun occluded by cloud or fog. Furthermore, Haidinger's brushes can also be used to locate the sun when it is below the horizon or occluded by objects on the horizon. To determine the position of the sun using the celestial polarization pattern, the d of the portion of the sky used must be greater than the viewer's degree of polarization threshold d* for perception of Haidinger's brushes. We studied under which sky conditions the prerequisite d > d* is satisfied. Using full-sky imaging polarimetry, we measured the d-pattern of skylight in the blue (450 nm) spectral range for 1296 different meteorological conditions with different solar elevation angles θ and per cent cloud cover ρ. From the measured d-patterns of a given sky we determined the proportion P of the sky for which d > d*. We obtained that P is the largest at low solar elevations θ ≈ 0° and under totally or nearly clear skies with cloud coverage ρ = 0%, when the sun's position is already easily determined. If the sun is below the horizon (−5° ≤ θ < 0°) during twilight, P = 76.17 ± 4.18% for dtruemin∗=23normal% under clear sky conditions. Consequently, the sky-polarimetric Viking navigation based on Haidinger's brushes is most useful after sunset and prior to sunrise, when the sun is not visible and large sky regions are bright, clear and polarized enough for perception of Haidinger's brushes.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Figure 1.Principle of the sky-polarimetric Viking navigation on the basis of Haidinger's brushes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Celestial polarization patterns sufficient for Viking navigation with the naked eye: detectability of Haidinger's brushes on the sky versus meteorological conditions

et al. 2017

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“…The entoptic phenomenon of Haidinger's brushes [1] (HB) is a manifestation of the human eye's ability to detect linear polarized light [2]. The brushes are perceived by most humans with normal vision when observing a uniform field of linear polarized light.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Computational simulation of Haidinger’s brushes

2018

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Haidinger's brushes (HB) are entoptic phenomena resulting from differential absorption of linear polarized light by the human macula. Computational models have assisted in understanding the behavior of these subjective phenomena but have been limited in their application. This study presents a revised computational model that incorporates known determinants of the form and behavior of HB. The model generates both static and animated simulations of HB that can be quantified by their density, contrast, and radial/circumferential extent. Measured physiological parameters are used to demonstrate the dependency of HB on macular pigment (MP) density, MP distribution, and ocular retardation. Physiological variations in these parameters explain the reported variations in the perception of HB.

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“…Also, there is little evidence for ordered arrays of vertebrate photoreceptors comparable to the dorsal rim area found in many insects. Nevertheless, there is behavioural and physiological evidence for polarization sensitivity from all classes of vertebrates, apart from mammals (with the exception of humans) (for recent reviews, see Muheim, 2011;Åkesson, 2014;McGregor et al, 2014;Meyer-Rochow, 2014a;Meyer-Rochow, 2014b;Roberts, 2014). Amphibian and reptilian polarization sensitivity is primarily mediated by extraocular photoreceptors in the pineal gland (Adler and Taylor, 1973;Taylor and Adler, 1978), the frontal organ (Taylor and Ferguson, 1970;Justis and Taylor, 1976) and in the parietal eye (Freake, 1999;Beltrami et al, 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

No response to linear polarization cues in operant conditioning experiments with zebra finches

Melgar

Lind

Muheim

2015

Journal of Experimental Biology

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Many animals can use the polarization of light in various behavioural contexts. Birds are well known to use information from the skylight polarization pattern for orientation and compass calibration. However, there are few controlled studies of polarization vision in birds, and the majority of them have not been successful in convincingly demonstrating polarization vision. We used a two-alternative forced choice conditioning approach to assess linear polarization vision in male zebra finches in the 'visible' spectral range (wavelengths >400 nm). The birds were trained to discriminate colour, brightness and polarization stimuli presented on either one of two LCD-screens. All birds were able to discriminate the colour and brightness stimuli, but they were unable to discriminate the polarization stimuli. Our results suggest that in the behavioural context studied here, zebra finches are not able to discriminate polarized light stimuli.

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Human Polarization Sensitivity

Cited by 18 publications

References 45 publications

Celestial polarization patterns sufficient for Viking navigation with the naked eye: detectability of Haidinger's brushes on the sky versus meteorological conditions

Celestial polarization patterns sufficient for Viking navigation with the naked eye: detectability of Haidinger's brushes on the sky versus meteorological conditions

Computational simulation of Haidinger’s brushes

No response to linear polarization cues in operant conditioning experiments with zebra finches

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