INTERPRETATION OF KERNELS .3. POSITIVE OFF-DIAGONAL KERNELS AS CORRELATES OF THE DYNAMIC PROCESS OF PUPILLARY ESCAPE

Pupillary escape to on-step light stimulus is a well-known nonlinear dynamic phenomenon. Using adequate-bandwidth noise and a spectral computational technique, the 1st- and 2nd-degree kernels of the pupillary system were estimated. Nonlinear heuristic models, composed of cascades of linear elements, were then simulated. These heuristic models produced varying amounts of pupillary-escape-like effect for step inputs. Kernels of these heuristic models were determined with a biimpulse technique. Comparison of simulation results showed direct correspondence between positive off-diagonal 2nd-degree kernel values and the pupillary-escape-like effect demonstrated by the heuristic model. This supports the ability to interpret kernel shapes in general by relating them to the dynamics of nonlinear systems. © 1979.