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Vision Research (vision + research)
Selected AbstractsLimits of spherical blur determined with an adaptive optics mirrorOPHTHALMIC AND PHYSIOLOGICAL OPTICS, Issue 3 2009David A. Atchison Abstract We extended an earlier study (Vision Research, 45, 1967,1974, 2005) in which we investigated limits at which induced blur of letter targets becomes noticeable, troublesome and objectionable. Here we used a deformable adaptive optics mirror to vary spherical defocus for conditions of a white background with correction of astigmatism; a white background with reduction of all aberrations other than defocus; and a monochromatic background with reduction of all aberrations other than defocus. We used seven cyclopleged subjects, lines of three high-contrast letters as targets, 3,6 mm artificial pupils, and 0.1,0.6 logMAR letter sizes. Subjects used a method of adjustment to control the defocus component of the mirror to set the ,just noticeable', ,just troublesome' and ,just objectionable' defocus levels. For the white-no adaptive optics condition combined with 0.1 logMAR letter size, mean ,noticeable' blur limits were ±0.30, ±0.24 and ±0.23 D at 3, 4 and 6 mm pupils, respectively. White-adaptive optics and monochromatic-adaptive optics conditions reduced blur limits by 8% and 20%, respectively. Increasing pupil size from 3,6 mm decreased blur limits by 29%, and increasing letter size increased blur limits by 79%. Ratios of troublesome to noticeable, and of objectionable to noticeable, blur limits were 1.9 and 2.7 times, respectively. The study shows that the deformable mirror can be used to vary defocus in vision experiments. Overall, the results of noticeable, troublesome and objectionable blur agreed well with those of the previous study. Attempting to reduce higher-order aberrations or chromatic aberrations, reduced blur limits to only a small extent. [source] Assessment of functional vision and its rehabilitationACTA OPHTHALMOLOGICA, Issue 2 2010August Colenbrander Abstract. This article, based on a report prepared for the International Council of Ophthalmology (ICO) and the International Society for Low Vision Research and Rehabilitation (ISLRR), explores the assessment of various aspects of visual functioning as needed to document the outcomes of vision rehabilitation. Documenting patient abilities and functional vision (how the person functions) is distinct from the measurement of visual functions (how the eye functions) and also from the assessment of quality of life. All three areas are important, but their assessment should not be mixed. Observation of task performance offers the most objective measure of functional vision, but it is time-consuming and not feasible for many tasks. Where possible, timing and error rates provide an easy score. Patient response questionnaires provide an alternative. They may save time and can cover a wider area, but the responses are subjective and proper scoring presents problems. Simple Likert scoring still predominates but Rasch analysis, needed to provide better result scales, is gaining ground. Selection of questions is another problem. If the range of difficulties does not match the range of patient abilities, and if the difficulties are not distributed evenly, the results are not optimal. This may be an argument to use different outcome questions for different conditions. Generic questionnaires are appropriate for the assessment of generic quality of life, but not for specific rehabilitation outcomes. Different questionnaires are also needed for screening, intake and outcomes. Intake questions must be relevant to actual needs to allow prioritization of rehabilitation goals; the activity inventory presents a prototype. Outcome questions should be targeted at predefined rehabilitation goals. The Appendix cites some promising examples. The Low Vision Intervention Trial (LOVIT) is an example of a properly designed randomized control study, and has demonstrated the remarkable effectiveness of vision rehabilitation. It is hoped that further similar studies will follow. [source] Mathematical analysis of the cone ERG photopic hill: Clinical applicationsACTA OPHTHALMOLOGICA, Issue 2007P LACHAPELLE Purpose: With brighter stimuli, the photopic ERG b-wave increases to a maximal value and then decreases to a plateau, a feature known as the Photopic Hill (PH). Recently, a mathematical model combining a Gaussian (GF) and a Logistic Growth (LGF) functions was developed to fit the PH (Hamilton et al., Vision Research, in press). We examined if this equation could help us sort out selected retinopathies. Methods: We compared PHs (background: 30 cd.m-2; intensities: -0.8 to 2.84 log cd.sec.m-2) obtained from normals (N=40) and patients (N=20) affected with Congenital Stationary Night Blindness (CSNB), Congenital Postreceptoral Cone Pathway Anomaly (CPCPA) and Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP) with the GL ratio [GL= Gb / (Gb+Vbmax)] were Gb and Vbmax represent the amplitude of the Gaussian and logistic (Vbmax) functions respectively. Results: The normal GL ratio is 0.60 ± 0.08 (mean ± 1SD) compared to ,1.0 in CSNB (almost pure GF) and 0.32±0.08 in CPCP [reduced GF (p<.05) and normal LF (p>.05)] patients. Six of the 8 RP patients had a GL ratio above 0.5 (mean GL= 0.70 ± 0.19) and 2 below (0.28 and 0.41). Of interest, while in some retinopathies, a decline in Gb and Vbmax occurred with disease progression (longitudinal and transversal comparisons), it did not always modify the GL ratio. Conclusions: Human PH can be dissected into two distinct and concomitant phenomena each represented by its own equation. Altghough the retinal origin of the GF and LGF awaits to be confirmed, use of this mathematical approach appears to add valuable information that will further refine the diagnosis of retinal disorders affecting the photopic (cone) pathway. Supported by CIHR and Réseau Vision. [source] The Picture of the Linguistic Brain: How Sharp Can It Be?LINGUISTICS & LANGUAGE COMPASS (ELECTRONIC), Issue 8 2010Reply to Fedorenko & Kanwisher What is the best way to learn how the brain analyzes linguistic input? Two popular methods have attempted to segregate and localize linguistic processes: analyses of language deficits subsequent to (mostly focal) brain disease and functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) in health. A recent Compass article by Fedorenko and Kanwisher (FK, 2009) observes that these methods group together data from many individuals through methods that rely on variable anatomical landmarks and that results in a murky picture of how language is represented in the brain. To get around the variability problem, FK propose to import into neurolinguistics a method that has been successfully used in vision research , one that locates functional Regions Of Interest (fROIs) in each individual brain. In this note, I propose an alternative perspective. I first take issue with FK's reading of the literature. I point out that, when the neurolinguistic landscape is examined with the right linguistic spectacles, the emerging picture , while intriguingly complex , is not murky, but rather, stable and clear, parsing the linguistic brain into functionally and anatomically coherent pieces. I then examine the potential value of the method that FK propose, in light of important micro-anatomical differences between language and high-level vision areas and conclude that as things stand the method they propose is not very likely to bear much fruit in neurolinguistic research. [source] Compensation for light loss due to filtering by macular pigment: relation to hue cancellationOPHTHALMIC AND PHYSIOLOGICAL OPTICS, Issue 3 2007James M. Stringham Abstract Background:, A long-standing question in colour vision research is how the visual system is able to correct for the significant absorbance of short wave light by the crystalline lens and macular pigment (MP). Such compensation must be required in order to maintain colour constancy across the retina where MP levels are changing quickly and dramatically. Objective:, We studied this compensation mechanism by measuring MP spatial density profiles and hue cancellation functions across the central retina in a sample of six young healthy subjects. Method:, Yellow (Y, 575 nm)/blue (B, 440 nm) and red (R, 600 nm)/green (G, 501 nm) cancellation functions were obtained at 0, 1, 1.75, 3 and 7° eccentricity. The MP optical density at 460 nm was measured at these same eccentricities using heterochromatic flicker photometry. One subject was assessed repeatedly over a 4-month period during daily supplementation with 30 mg of lutein (L). Results:, Hue cancellation values for the Y/B system did not change across the retina (r = 0.09). In contrast, R/G sensitivity changed as a direct function of MP absorbance (r = 0.99). The Y/B values did not change in the one subject supplemented with 30 mg L daily, despite increases in MP of about 50% over 4 months. Conclusions:, Despite large variations in MP across the retina, hue cancellation values for the Y-B system across the central retina were constant. For example, one subject's MP density declined from a central peak of 0.99 to near zero at 7° (near 90% transmission difference) yet thresholds for the Y/B system were unaffected. In contrast, the G lobe of the R/G system was directly correlated with MP density. Taken together, these results confirm that the Y/B system compensates for MP density, but the R/G system does not. [source] Colour and colour vision of creatures great and smallCOLORATION TECHNOLOGY, Issue 2 2006Tim L Dawson Today the mechanisms of human colour vision are well understood because of the detailed communication feedback possible in experimental studies. The situation with other species in the animal kingdom is less easy to investigate and understand. In the present review, examples of the colour and colour vision of various animal species are described, selected mainly because they are particularly interesting and indeed colourful. The chemical structures and the relationships of the natural pigments involved also receive attention. Despite many decades of vision research, many aspects of colour vision remain unclear. Nevertheless increasing knowledge in all these fields may someday help to elucidate the neurological pathways underlying other animals' colour vision to the same extent as is at present known for human vision. [source] | ||||||||||