Contrast sensitivity peaks near 10 Hz for luminance modulations and at lower frequencies for modulations between equiluminant lights. This difference is rooted in retinal filtering, but additional filtering occurs in the cerebral cortex. To measure the cortical contributions to luminance and chromatic temporal contrast sensitivity, signals in the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) were compared to the behavioral contrast sensitivity of macaque monkeys. Long wavelength-sensitive (L) and medium wavelength-sensitive (M) cones were modulated in phase to produce a luminance modulation (L + M) or in counterphase to produce a chromatic modulation (L − M). The sensitivity of LGN neurons was well matched to behavioral sensitivity at low temporal frequencies but was approximately 7 times greater at high temporal frequencies. Similar results were obtained for L + M and L − M modulations. These results show that differences in the shapes of the luminance and chromatic temporal contrast sensitivity functions are due almost entirely to pre-cortical mechanisms.
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