Laser pulse train parameters determine the brightness of a two-photon stimulus

Abstract

This report presents the results of measurements of the two-photon vision threshold for various pulse trains. We employed three pulsed near-infrared lasers and pulse stretchers to obtain variations of the pulse duty cycle parameter over three orders of magnitude. We proposed and extensively described a mathematical model that combines the laser parameters with the visual threshold value. The presented methodology enables one to predict the visual threshold value for a two-photon stimulus for a healthy subject while using a laser source of known parameters. Our findings would be of value to laser engineers and the community interested in nonlinear visual perception.