Stereolatency: a stereopsis test for everyday depth perception.

An instrument is described which tests for the use of stereopsis by measuring how long it takes for depth perception to begin (its latency) after a transition from monocular to binocular vision. Starting at 1 s, the duration of binocular vision is reduced progressively toward a limit of 16 ms (or increased to a limit of 4 s) until the latency of stereopsis is found. The preliminary period of monocular vision acts as a probe for suppression of either eye and allows time for accommodation and vergence to stabilize before binocular vision begins. Typical results are presented.