Temporal instability in amblyopic vision: relationship to a displacement map of visual space.

Full Abstract

PURPOSE:
To investigate the relationship between the subjectively experienced misperceptions and the objectively determined two-dimensional spatial displacement maps in subjects with strabismic and anisometropic amblyopia.

METHODS:
Seventeen experimental subjects were asked to describe and sketch their perception of simple geometric pattern, as perceived through their amblyopic eyes. A subgroup of 15 subjects participated in a psychophysical experiment, in which the two-dimensional displacement maps were determined by asking the subjects to reconstruct, point-by-point, memorized circles of different radii. The results of these displacement maps were related to the clinical characteristics and the perceptual descriptions of the same subjects.

RESULTS:
Twelve of the 17 investigated subjects experienced spatial distortions; six subjects perceived temporal instabilities, either in addition, or in the absence of spatial distortions. Objectively determined spatial displacement and spatial uncertainty were significantly larger in subjects with a history of strabismus and a deep acuity loss than in subjects with refractive etiology and a mild acuity loss. Subjects experiencing temporal instability showed more spatial uncertainty in the amblyopic eye than did subjects with a stable perception.

CONCLUSIONS:
These results suggest that a history of strabismus and a deep amblyopia are more likely to be associated with temporal misperceptions than a refractive etiology and a mild acuity loss. A temporally unstable perception may be related to a more profound disorganization of the central neural pathways connected to the amblyopic eye.

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Author information

Author/s: Sireteanu, Ruxandra (R); Bäumer, Claudia C (CC); Iftime, Adrian (A);

Affiliation: Department of Neurophysiology, Max-Planck-Institute for Brain Research, Frankfurt, Germany.

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Journal: Investigative ophthalmology & visual science (Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2008-Sep; vol 49 (issue 9) : pp 3940-54

Dates: Created 2008/09/03; Completed 2008/10/06;

PMID: 18765634, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 11/6/2008)

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Adult
Amblyopia - etiology; physiopathology
Contrast Sensitivity
Depth Perception
Female
Humans

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