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Beyer R, Al-Nosairy KO, Freitag C, Stolle FH, Behrens M, Prabhakaran GT, Thieme H, Schega L, Hoffmann MB. Treadmill-walking impairs visual function in early glaucoma and elderly controls. Graefes Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol 2024:10.1007/s00417-024-06530-w. [PMID: 38856953 DOI: 10.1007/s00417-024-06530-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2024] [Revised: 05/09/2024] [Accepted: 05/22/2024] [Indexed: 06/11/2024] Open
Abstract
AIMS Impaired vision is an additional risk factor in elderly for falls. We investigated the hypothesis that treadmill (TM) walking affects visual function in both healthy elderly and those with early-moderate visual dysfunction due to glaucoma. METHODS Thirty healthy controls (HC) aged 64-83 years and 18 glaucoma patients (GLA) aged 62-82 years participated in this cross-sectional study. The impact of TM-walking on visual function was assessed binocularly for (i) best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) with and without crowding effect, (ii) contrast sensitivity (CS), and (iii) and visual field (mean deviation, VF-MD). Visual function was tested while participants were standing or during TM-walking for 2 speed conditions: (i) fast walking at their preferred speed and (ii) walking at a fixed speed of 3.5 km/h. RESULTS GLA, most with early-moderate VF loss, performed equally well as HC. Independent of GROUP, an impact of SPEED on visual functions was statistically evident with large statistical effect size for (i) both types of BCVA with a mean loss of 0.02-0.05 logMAR (η2 = 0.41) and (ii) VF-MD with mean loss of 1 dB (η2 = 0.70), but not for CS. CONCLUSIONS Here, we introduce a paradigm for the assessment of visual function during walking. We provide proof-of-concept that our approach allows for the identification of walking induced visual function loss, i.e., a deterioration of BCVA and VF-sensitivity during TM-walking in both groups. It is therefore of promise for the investigation of the relation of vision impairment and mobility, ultimately the increased frequency of falls in advanced glaucoma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rosalie Beyer
- Ophthalmic Department, University Hospitals Magdeburg, Leipziger Str. 44, 39120, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Khaldoon O Al-Nosairy
- Ophthalmic Department, University Hospitals Magdeburg, Leipziger Str. 44, 39120, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Constantin Freitag
- Department of Sport Science, Institute III, Otto Von Guericke University Magdeburg, Zschokkestraße 32, 39104, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Francie H Stolle
- Ophthalmic Department, University Hospitals Magdeburg, Leipziger Str. 44, 39120, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Martin Behrens
- Department of Sport Science, Institute III, Otto Von Guericke University Magdeburg, Zschokkestraße 32, 39104, Magdeburg, Germany
- University of Applied sciences for Sport and Management Potsdam, Olympischer Weg 7, 14471, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Gokulraj T Prabhakaran
- Ophthalmic Department, University Hospitals Magdeburg, Leipziger Str. 44, 39120, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Hagen Thieme
- Ophthalmic Department, University Hospitals Magdeburg, Leipziger Str. 44, 39120, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Lutz Schega
- Department of Sport Science, Institute III, Otto Von Guericke University Magdeburg, Zschokkestraße 32, 39104, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Michael B Hoffmann
- Ophthalmic Department, University Hospitals Magdeburg, Leipziger Str. 44, 39120, Magdeburg, Germany.
- Center for Behavioral Brain Research, Magdeburg, Germany.
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Tanriverdi D, Cornelissen FW. Rapid assessment of peripheral visual crowding. Front Neurosci 2024; 18:1332701. [PMID: 38629049 PMCID: PMC11019380 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2024.1332701] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2023] [Accepted: 03/12/2024] [Indexed: 04/19/2024] Open
Abstract
Visual crowding, the phenomenon in which the ability to distinguish objects is hindered in cluttered environments, has critical implications for various ophthalmic and neurological disorders. Traditional methods for assessing crowding involve time-consuming and attention-demanding psychophysical tasks, making routine examination challenging. This study sought to compare trial-based Alternative Forced-Choice (AFC) paradigms using either manual or eye movement responses and a continuous serial search paradigm employing eye movement responses to evaluate their efficiency in rapidly assessing peripheral crowding. In all paradigms, we manipulated the orientation of a central Gabor patch, which could be presented alone or surrounded by six Gabor patches. We measured participants' target orientation discrimination thresholds using adaptive psychophysics to assess crowding magnitude. Depending on the paradigm, participants either made saccadic eye movements to the target location or responded manually by pressing a key or moving a mouse. We compared these paradigms in terms of crowding magnitude, assessment time, and paradigm demand. Our results indicate that employing eye movement-based paradigms for assessing peripheral visual crowding yields results faster compared to paradigms that necessitate manual responses. Furthermore, when considering similar levels of confidence in the threshold measurements, both a novel serial search paradigm and an eye movement-based 6AFC paradigm proved to be the most efficient in assessing crowding magnitude. Additionally, crowding estimates obtained through either the continuous serial search or the 6AFC paradigms were consistently higher than those obtained using the 2AFC paradigms. Lastly, participants did not report a clear difference between paradigms in terms of their perceived demand. In conclusion, both the continuous serial search and the 6AFC eye movement response paradigms enable a fast assessment of visual crowding. These approaches may potentially facilitate future routine crowding assessment. However, the usability of these paradigms in specific patient populations and specific purposes should be assessed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dilce Tanriverdi
- Laboratory for Experimental Ophthalmology, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
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3
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Blanckaert E, Rouland JF, Davost T, Warniez A, Boucart M. Higher susceptibility to central crowding in glaucoma. Clin Exp Optom 2024; 107:227-233. [PMID: 36183782 DOI: 10.1080/08164622.2022.2124848] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2022] [Revised: 08/09/2022] [Accepted: 09/06/2022] [Indexed: 10/07/2022] Open
Abstract
CLINICAL RELEVANCE Crowding limits many daily life activities, such as reading and the visual search for objects in cluttered environments. Excessive sensitivity to crowding, especially in central vision, may amplify the difficulties of patients with ocular pathologies. It is thus important to investigate what limits visual activities and how to improve it. BACKGROUND Numerous studies have reported reduced contrast sensitivity in central vision in patients with glaucoma. However, deficits have also been observed for letter recognition at high contrast, suggesting that contrast alone cannot completely account for impaired central perception. METHOD Seventeen patients and fifteen age-matched controls were randomly presented with letters in central or parafoveal vision at 5° eccentricity for 200 ms. They were asked to decide whether the central T was upright or inverted. The T was either presented in isolation (uncrowded) or flanked by two Hs (crowded) at various spacings. Contrast was manipulated: 60% and 5%. RESULTS Compared to controls, patients exhibited a significant effect of crowding in central vision, with higher accuracy for the isolated T than for HTH only at low contrast. In parafoveal vision, an effect of crowding was also observed only in patients. The spacing to escape crowding varied as a function of contrast. Larger spacing was required at low contrast than at high contrast. Susceptibility to crowding was related to central visual field defect for central presentations and to contrast sensitivity for parafoveal presentations, only at low contrast. Controls were at ceiling level both for central and parafoveal presentations. CONCLUSION Crowding limits visual perception, impeding reading and object recognition in cluttered environments. Visual field defects and lower contrast sensitivity in glaucoma can increase susceptibility to central and parafoveal crowding, the deleterious effect of which can be improved by manipulating contrast and spacing between elements.
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Affiliation(s)
- Edouard Blanckaert
- Department of Ophthalmology, Lille University Hospital, Hôpital Huriez, Lille, France
| | - Jean François Rouland
- Department of Ophthalmology, Lille University Hospital, Hôpital Huriez, Lille, France
- Lille Neurosciences and Cognition, University of Lille, Lille, France
| | - Theophile Davost
- Department of Ophthalmology, Lille University Hospital, Hôpital Huriez, Lille, France
| | - Aude Warniez
- Lille Neurosciences and Cognition, University of Lille, Lille, France
| | - Muriel Boucart
- Lille Neurosciences and Cognition, University of Lille, Lille, France
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4
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Leadbeater RJ, McGraw P, Ledgeway T. Assessing the reliability of web-based measurements of visual function. Behav Res Methods 2024; 56:406-416. [PMID: 36690890 PMCID: PMC10794459 DOI: 10.3758/s13428-022-02057-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 12/19/2022] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
Many behavioural phenomena have been replicated using web-based experiments, but evaluation of the agreement between objective measures of web- and lab-based performance is required if scientists and clinicians are to reap the benefits of web-based testing. In this study, we investigated the reliability of a task which assesses early visual cortical function by evaluating the well-known 'oblique effect' (we are better at seeing horizontal and vertical edges than tilted ones) and the levels of agreement between remote, web-based measures and lab-based measures. Sixty-nine young participants (mean age, 21.8 years) performed temporal and spatial versions of a web-based, two-alternative forced choice (2AFC) orientation-identification task. In each case, orientation-identification thresholds (the minimum orientation difference at which a standard orientation could be reliably distinguished from a rotated comparison) were measured for cardinal (horizontal and vertical) and oblique orientations. Reliability was assessed in a subsample of 18 participants who performed the same tasks under laboratory conditions. Robust oblique effects were found, such that thresholds were substantially lower for cardinal orientations compared to obliques, for both web- and lab-based measures of the temporal and spatial 2AFC tasks. Crucially, web- and lab-based orientation-identification thresholds showed high levels of agreement, demonstrating the suitability of web-based testing for assessments of early visual cortical function. Future studies should assess the reliability of similar web-based tasks in clinical populations to evaluate their adoption into clinical settings, either to screen for visual anomalies or to assess changes in performance associated with progression of disease severity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard J Leadbeater
- Visual Neuroscience Group, School of Psychology, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, UK.
| | - Paul McGraw
- Visual Neuroscience Group, School of Psychology, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, UK
| | - Timothy Ledgeway
- Visual Neuroscience Group, School of Psychology, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, UK
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Smithers SP, Shao Y, Altham J, Bex PJ. Large depth differences between target and flankers can increase crowding: Evidence from a multi-depth plane display. eLife 2023; 12:e85143. [PMID: 37665324 PMCID: PMC10476968 DOI: 10.7554/elife.85143] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2022] [Accepted: 07/20/2023] [Indexed: 09/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Crowding occurs when the presence of nearby features causes highly visible objects to become unrecognizable. Although crowding has implications for many everyday tasks and the tremendous amounts of research reflect its importance, surprisingly little is known about how depth affects crowding. Most available studies show that stereoscopic disparity reduces crowding, indicating that crowding may be relatively unimportant in three-dimensional environments. However, most previous studies tested only small stereoscopic differences in depth in which disparity, defocus blur, and accommodation are inconsistent with the real world. Using a novel multi-depth plane display, this study investigated how large (0.54-2.25 diopters), real differences in target-flanker depth, representative of those experienced between many objects in the real world, affect crowding. Our findings show that large differences in target-flanker depth increased crowding in the majority of observers, contrary to previous work showing reduced crowding in the presence of small depth differences. Furthermore, when the target was at fixation depth, crowding was generally more pronounced when the flankers were behind the target as opposed to in front of it. However, when the flankers were at fixation depth, crowding was generally more pronounced when the target was behind the flankers. These findings suggest that crowding from clutter outside the limits of binocular fusion can still have a significant impact on object recognition and visual perception in the peripheral field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samuel P Smithers
- Department of Psychology, Northeastern UniversityBostonUnited States
| | - Yulong Shao
- Department of Psychology, Northeastern UniversityBostonUnited States
| | - James Altham
- Department of Psychology, Northeastern UniversityBostonUnited States
| | - Peter J Bex
- Department of Psychology, Northeastern UniversityBostonUnited States
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6
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Huang Y, Liu Z, Wang M, Gao L, Wu Y, Hu J, Zhang Z, Yan FF, Deng D, Huang CB, Yu M. Cortical Reorganization After Optical Alignment in Strabismic Patients Outside of Critical Period. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 2023; 64:5. [PMID: 37535007 PMCID: PMC10408769 DOI: 10.1167/iovs.64.11.5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2023] [Accepted: 07/17/2023] [Indexed: 08/04/2023] Open
Abstract
PURPOSE To measure visual crowding, an essential bottleneck on object recognition and reliable psychophysical index of cortex organization, in older children and adults with horizontal concomitant strabismus before and after strabismus surgery. METHODS Using real-time eye tracking to ensure gaze-contingent display, we examined the peripheral visual crowding effects in older children and adults with horizontal concomitant strabismus but without amblyopia before and after strabismus surgery. Patients were asked to discriminate the orientation of the central tumbling E target letter with flankers arranged along the radial or tangential axis in the nasal or temporal hemifield at different eccentricities (5° or 10°). The critical spacing value, which is the minimum space between the target and the flankers required for correct discrimination, was obtained for comparisons before and after strabismus surgery. RESULTS Twelve individuals with exotropia (6 males, 21.75 ± 7.29 years, mean ± SD) and 15 individuals with esotropia (6 males, 24.13 ± 5.96 years) participated in this study. We found that strabismic individuals showed significantly larger critical spacing with nasotemporal asymmetry along the radial axis that related to the strabismus pattern, with exotropes exhibiting stronger temporal field crowding and esotropes exhibiting stronger nasal field crowding before surgical alignment. After surgery, the critical spacing was reduced and rebalanced between the nasal and temporal hemifields. Furthermore, the postoperative recovery of stereopsis was associated with the extent of nasotemporal balance of critical spacing. CONCLUSIONS We find that optical realignment (i.e., strabismus surgery) can normalize the enlarged visual crowding effects, a reliable psychophysical index of cortical organization, in the peripheral visual field of older children and adults with strabismus and rebalance the nasotemporal asymmetry of crowding, promoting the recovery of postoperative stereopsis. Our results indicated a potential of experience-dependent cortical organization after axial alignment even for individuals who are out of the critical period of visual development, illuminating the capacity and limitations of optics on sensory plasticity and emphasizing the importance of ocular correction for clinical practice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yiru Huang
- State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Guangdong Provincial Clinical Research Center for Ocular Diseases, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Zitian Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Guangdong Provincial Clinical Research Center for Ocular Diseases, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Mingqin Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Guangdong Provincial Clinical Research Center for Ocular Diseases, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Le Gao
- State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Guangdong Provincial Clinical Research Center for Ocular Diseases, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Yanyan Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Guangdong Provincial Clinical Research Center for Ocular Diseases, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Jingyi Hu
- State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Guangdong Provincial Clinical Research Center for Ocular Diseases, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Zhenyu Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing, China
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Fang-Fang Yan
- Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing, China
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Daming Deng
- State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Guangdong Provincial Clinical Research Center for Ocular Diseases, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Chang-Bing Huang
- Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing, China
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Minbin Yu
- State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Guangdong Provincial Clinical Research Center for Ocular Diseases, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
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7
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Bang JW, Parra C, Yu K, Wollstein G, Schuman JS, Chan KC. GABA decrease is associated with degraded neural specificity in the visual cortex of glaucoma patients. Commun Biol 2023; 6:679. [PMID: 37386293 PMCID: PMC10310759 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-023-04918-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2022] [Accepted: 05/05/2023] [Indexed: 07/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Glaucoma is an age-related neurodegenerative disease of the visual system, affecting both the eye and the brain. Yet its underlying metabolic mechanisms and neurobehavioral relevance remain largely unclear. Here, using proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy and functional magnetic resonance imaging, we investigated the GABAergic and glutamatergic systems in the visual cortex of glaucoma patients, as well as neural specificity, which is shaped by GABA and glutamate signals and underlies efficient sensory and cognitive functions. Our study shows that among the older adults, both GABA and glutamate levels decrease with increasing glaucoma severity regardless of age. Further, our study shows that the reduction of GABA but not glutamate predicts the neural specificity. This association is independent of the impairments on the retina structure, age, and the gray matter volume of the visual cortex. Our results suggest that glaucoma-specific decline of GABA undermines neural specificity in the visual cortex and that targeting GABA could improve the neural specificity in glaucoma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ji Won Bang
- Department of Ophthalmology, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, NYU Langone Health, New York University, New York, New York, 10017, USA.
| | - Carlos Parra
- Department of Ophthalmology, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, NYU Langone Health, New York University, New York, New York, 10017, USA
| | - Kevin Yu
- Department of Ophthalmology, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, NYU Langone Health, New York University, New York, New York, 10017, USA
| | - Gadi Wollstein
- Department of Ophthalmology, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, NYU Langone Health, New York University, New York, New York, 10017, USA
- Center for Neural Science, College of Arts and Science, New York University, New York, New York, 10003, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tandon School of Engineering, New York University, New York, New York, 11201, USA
| | - Joel S Schuman
- Department of Ophthalmology, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, NYU Langone Health, New York University, New York, New York, 10017, USA
- Center for Neural Science, College of Arts and Science, New York University, New York, New York, 10003, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tandon School of Engineering, New York University, New York, New York, 11201, USA
- Neuroscience Institute, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, NYU Langone Health, New York University, New York, New York, 10016, USA
| | - Kevin C Chan
- Department of Ophthalmology, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, NYU Langone Health, New York University, New York, New York, 10017, USA.
- Center for Neural Science, College of Arts and Science, New York University, New York, New York, 10003, USA.
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tandon School of Engineering, New York University, New York, New York, 11201, USA.
- Neuroscience Institute, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, NYU Langone Health, New York University, New York, New York, 10016, USA.
- Department of Radiology, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, NYU Langone Health, New York University, New York, New York, 10016, USA.
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Shamsi F, Liu R, Kwon M. Foveal crowding appears to be robust to normal aging and glaucoma unlike parafoveal and peripheral crowding. J Vis 2022; 22:10. [PMID: 35848904 PMCID: PMC9308014 DOI: 10.1167/jov.22.8.10] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Visual crowding is the inability to recognize a target object in clutter. Previous studies have shown an increase in crowding in both parafoveal and peripheral vision in normal aging and glaucoma. Here, we ask whether there is any increase in foveal crowding in both normal aging and glaucomatous vision. Twenty-four patients with glaucoma and 24 age-matched normally sighted controls (mean age = 65 ± 7 vs. 60 ± 8 years old) participated in this study. For each subject, we measured the extent of foveal crowding using Pelli's foveal crowding paradigm (2016). We found that the average crowding zone was 0.061 degrees for glaucoma and 0.056 degrees for age-matched normal vision, respectively. These values fall into the range of foveal crowding zones (0.0125 degrees to 0.1 degrees) observed in young normal vision. We, however, did not find any evidence supporting increased foveal crowding in glaucoma (p = 0.375), at least in the early to moderate stages of glaucoma. In the light of previous studies on foveal crowding in normal young vision, we did not find any evidence supporting age-related changes in foveal crowding. Even if there is any, the effect appears to be rather inconsequential. Taken together, our findings suggest unlike parafoveal or peripheral crowding (2 degrees, 4 degrees, 8 degrees, and 10 degrees eccentricities), foveal crowding (<0.25 degrees eccentricity) appears to be less vulnerable to normal aging or moderate glaucomatous damage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Foroogh Shamsi
- Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA.,
| | - Rong Liu
- Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA.,Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA.,Department of Life Science and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China.,
| | - MiYoung Kwon
- Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA.,Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA.,
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9
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Bham HA, Denniss J. Effects of glaucoma on detection and discrimination of image blur. Ophthalmic Physiol Opt 2022; 42:471-481. [PMID: 35072288 PMCID: PMC9306785 DOI: 10.1111/opo.12947] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2021] [Revised: 10/18/2021] [Accepted: 10/19/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE Blur is one of the most commonly reported visual symptoms of glaucoma, but it is not directly measured by current clinical tests. We aimed to investigate the effects of glaucoma on detection and discrimination of image blur. METHODS Participants were people with glaucoma, separated into two groups with (n = 15) or without (n = 17) central visual field defects measured by 10-2 perimetry, and an age-similar control group (n = 18). First, we measured contrast detection thresholds centrally using a 2-interval forced choice procedure. We then measured blur detection and discrimination thresholds for the same stimuli (reference blurs 0, 1 arcmin) using a 2-alternative forced choice procedure under two contrast conditions: 4× individual detection threshold for the low contrast condition; 95% contrast for the high contrast condition. The stimulus was a horizontal edge bisecting a hard-edged circle of 4.5° diameter. Data were analysed by linear mixed modelling. RESULTS Contrast detection thresholds for the glaucoma group with central visual field defects were raised by 0.01 ± 0.004 (mean ± SE, Michelson units) (p = 0.002) and by 0.01 ± 0.004 (p = 0.03) relative to control and glaucoma without central visual field defect groups, respectively. Blur detection and discrimination thresholds were similar between groups, with small elevations in blur detection thresholds in the glaucoma groups not reaching statistical significance (detection p = 0.29, discrimination p = 0.91). The lower contrast level increased thresholds from the higher contrast level by 1.30 ± 0.10 arcmin (p < 0.001) and 1.05 ± 0.10 arcmin (p < 0.001) for blur detection and discrimination thresholds, respectively. CONCLUSIONS Early-moderate glaucoma resulted in only minimal elevations of blur detection thresholds that did not reach statistical significance in this study. Despite the prevalence of blur as a visual symptom of glaucoma, psychophysical measurements of blur detection or discrimination may not be good candidates for development as clinical tests for glaucoma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Habiba A Bham
- School of Optometry and Vision Science, University of Bradford, Bradford, UK
| | - Jonathan Denniss
- School of Optometry and Vision Science, University of Bradford, Bradford, UK
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10
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Shamsi F, Liu R, Kwon M. Binocularly Asymmetric Crowding in Glaucoma and a Lack of Binocular Summation in Crowding. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 2022; 63:36. [PMID: 35084432 PMCID: PMC8802025 DOI: 10.1167/iovs.63.1.36] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Purpose Glaucoma is associated with progressive loss of retinal ganglion cells. Here we investigated the impact of glaucomatous damage on monocular and binocular crowding in parafoveal vision. We also examined the binocular summation of crowding to see if crowding is alleviated under binocular viewing. Methods The study design included 40 individuals with glaucoma and 24 age-similar normal cohorts. For each subject, the magnitude of crowding was determined by the extent of crowding zone. Crowding zone measurements were made binocularly in parafoveal vision (i.e., at 2° and 4° retinal eccentricities) visual field. For a subgroup of glaucoma subjects (n = 17), crowding zone was also measured monocularly for each eye. Results Our results showed that, compared with normal cohorts, individuals with glaucoma exhibited significantly larger crowding—enlargement of crowding zone (an increase by 21%; P < 0.01). Moreover, we also observed a lack of binocular summation (i.e., a binocular ratio of 1): binocular crowding was determined by the better eye. Hence, our results did not provide evidence supporting binocular summation of crowding in glaucomatous vision. Conclusions Our findings show that crowding is exacerbated in parafoveal vision in glaucoma and binocularly asymmetric glaucoma seems to induce binocularly asymmetric crowding. Furthermore, the lack of binocular summation for crowding observed in glaucomatous vision combined with the lack of binocular summation reported in a previous study on normal healthy vision support the view that crowding may start in the early stages of visual processing, at least before the process of binocular integration takes place.
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Affiliation(s)
- Foroogh Shamsi
- Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts, United States
| | - Rong Liu
- Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts, United States.,Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, United States.,Department of Life Science and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
| | - MiYoung Kwon
- Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts, United States.,Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, United States
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11
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Sensitivity to Central Crowding for Faces in Patients With Glaucoma. J Glaucoma 2021; 30:140-147. [PMID: 33074958 DOI: 10.1097/ijg.0000000000001710] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2020] [Accepted: 10/03/2020] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
PRECIS Some patients with glaucoma report difficulties to recognize faces when they are far away. We show that this deficit could result from a higher sensitivity to crowding in central vision. PURPOSE The aim of the study is to investigate whether face recognition difficulties reported by some patients with glaucoma result from a greater sensitivity to inner crowding in central vision. METHODS Seventeen patients with glaucoma and 17 age-matched normally sighted controls participated in the study. An isolated mouth (uncrowded condition) or a mouth within a face (crowded condition) was randomly displayed centrally for 200 ms. For each condition, participants were asked to decide whether the mouth was closed or open. The stimuli were presented at 3 angular sizes (0.6×0.4, 1×0.72, and 1.5×1.08 degrees). Accuracy was measured. RESULTS Crowding affected performance differentially for patients and controls. Consistent with previous studies controls exhibited a "face superiority effect," with a better accuracy when the mouth was located within the face than when it was isolated. Sensitivity to crowding, reflected in a better accuracy with the isolated mouth, was observed in 10 of 17 patients only for small images. Crowding disappeared for larger faces, as the facial features were spaced out. Five patients were not sensitive to crowding. Importantly, no difference was found between the 2 subgroups of patients (sensitive vs. nonsensitive) in terms of mean deviation, contrast sensitivity, acuity, thickness of the retinal nerve fiber layer, or macular ganglion cell-inner plexiform layer. CONCLUSIONS An excessive sensitivity to central crowding might explain the difficulties in face perception and reading reported by some patients with glaucoma. The sensory or cognitive processes underlying this excessive sensitivity must be elucidated to improve central perception in glaucoma.
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Funatsu J, Murakami Y, Nakatake S, Akiyama M, Fujiwara K, Shimokawa S, Tachibana T, Hisatomi T, Koyanagi Y, Momozawa Y, Sonoda KH, Ikeda Y. Direct comparison of retinal structure and function in retinitis pigmentosa by co-registering microperimetry and optical coherence tomography. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0226097. [PMID: 31830067 PMCID: PMC6907793 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0226097] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2019] [Accepted: 11/19/2019] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
PURPOSE To evaluate the retinal structure-function relationships in the macula of retinitis pigmentosa (RP) patients by comparing microperimetry-3 (MP-3) images with co-registered optical coherence tomography (OCT) images. METHODS Thirty patients with typical RP were recruited from our hospital. The maculae of patients were examined with MP-3 and OCT. The retinal sensitivity was measured by MP-3 at 40 testing points arranged concentrically in a 16° diameter of the central retina, and we divided the 40 points into four zones according to degree from the fovea (2°, 4°, 6°, and 8°). We analyzed the correlation coefficients between the retinal sensitivity and the total retinal thickness (TRT), the length from the inner limiting membrane to the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), and between the retinal sensitivity and the outer retinal thickness (ORT), the length from the outer plexiform layer to the RPE at each stimulus point. RESULTS TRT showed moderate correlations with the retinal sensitivity at 2° (median ρ = 0.59 interquartile range (IQR) [0.38-0.72]), 4° (ρ = 0.59 [0.55-0.68]) and 6° (ρ = 0.60 [0.54-0.63]), and TRT was weakly-to-moderately related to the retinal sensitivity at 8° (ρ = 0.27 [0.19-0.48]). ORT exhibited strong correlations at 2° (ρ = 0.72 [0.60-0.81]), 4° (ρ = 0.71 [0.75-0.67]) and 6° (ρ = 0.70 [0.54-0.74]), and a weak-to-moderate correlations at 8° (ρ = 0.34 [0.29-0.53]). ORT was more strongly correlated with the retinal sensitivity compared to TRT (p = 0.018). CONCLUSION ORT, rather than TRT, within 6° eccentricity was strongly correlated with the retinal sensitivity, suggesting that measuring ORT in those areas will help evaluate the macular status and progression in RP.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jun Funatsu
- Department of Ophthalmology, Graduate School of Medical Science, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
| | - Yusuke Murakami
- Department of Ophthalmology, Graduate School of Medical Science, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
- * E-mail:
| | - Shunji Nakatake
- Department of Ophthalmology, Graduate School of Medical Science, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
| | - Masato Akiyama
- Department of Ophthalmology, Graduate School of Medical Science, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
| | - Kohta Fujiwara
- Department of Ophthalmology, Graduate School of Medical Science, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
| | - Shotaro Shimokawa
- Department of Ophthalmology, Graduate School of Medical Science, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
| | - Takashi Tachibana
- Department of Ophthalmology, Graduate School of Medical Science, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
| | - Toshio Hisatomi
- Department of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Medicine, Fukuoka University, Fukuoka, Japan
| | - Yoshito Koyanagi
- Department of Ophthalmology, Graduate School of Medical Science, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
| | - Yukihide Momozawa
- Laboratory for Genotyping Development, RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Koh-Hei Sonoda
- Department of Ophthalmology, Graduate School of Medical Science, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
| | - Yasuhiro Ikeda
- Department of Ophthalmology, Graduate School of Medical Science, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
- Department of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Miyazaki, Miyazaki, Japan
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