The relationship between reflex eye realignment and the percept of single vision in young children

The role of binocular vision in the control and development of visually guided upper limb movements

Vision provides a key sensory input for the performance of fine motor skills, which are fundamentally important to daily life activities, as well as skilled occupational and recreational performance. Binocular visual function is a crucial aspect of vision that requires the ability to combine inputs from both eyes into a unified percept. Summation and fusion are two aspects of binocular processing associated with performance advantages, including more efficient visuomotor control of upper limb movements. This paper uses the multiple processes model of limb control to explore how binocular viewing could facilitate the planning and execution of prehension movements in adults and typically developing children. Insight into the contribution of binocularity to visuomotor control also comes from examining motor performance in individuals with amblyopia, a condition characterized by reduced visual acuity and poor binocular function. Overall, research in this field has advanced our understanding of the role of binocular vision in the development and performance of visuomotor skills, the first step towards developing assessment tools and targeted rehabilitation for children with neurodevelopment disorders at risk of poor visuomotor outcomes. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue 'New approaches to 3D vision'.

Recent understanding of binocular vision in the natural environment with clinical implications

Technological advances in recent decades have allowed us to measure both the information available to the visual system in the natural environment and the rich array of behaviors that the visual system supports. This review highlights the tasks undertaken by the binocular visual system in particular and how, for much of human activity, these tasks differ from those considered when an observer fixates a static target on the midline. The everyday motor and perceptual challenges involved in generating a stable, useful binocular percept of the environment are discussed, together with how these challenges are but minimally addressed by much of current clinical interpretation of binocular function. The implications for new technology, such as virtual reality, are also highlighted in terms of clinical and basic research application.