Despite impaired binocular function, binocular disparity integration across the visual field is spared in normal aging and glaucoma
Despite impaired binocular function, binocular disparity integration across the visual field is spared in normal aging and glaucoma
Purpose: to examine how binocularly asymmetric glaucomatous visual field damage affects binocular disparity processing across the visual field.
Methods: we recruited 18 patients with primary open-angle glaucoma, 16 age-matched controls, and 13 young controls. Participants underwent standard clinical assessments of binocular visual acuity, binocular contrast sensitivity, stereoacuity, and perimetry. We employed a previously validated psychophysical procedure to measure how sensitivity to binocular disparity varied across spatial frequencies and visual field sectors (i.e., with full-field stimuli spanning the central 21° of the visual field and with stimuli restricted to annular regions spanning 0°–3°, 3°–9°, or 9°–21°). We employed measurements with annular stimuli to model different possible scenarios regarding how disparity information is combined across visual field sectors. We adjudicated between potential mechanisms by comparing model predictions to the patterns observed with full-field stimuli.
Results: perimetry confirmed that patients with glaucoma exhibited binocularly asymmetric visual field damage (P < 0.001). Across participant groups, foveal regions preferentially processed disparities at finer spatial scales, whereas periphery regions were tuned for coarser scales (P < 0.001). Disparity sensitivity also decreased from fovea to periphery (P < 0.001) and across participant groups (Ps < 0.01). Finally, similar to controls, patients with glaucoma exhibited near-optimal disparity integration, specifically at low spatial frequencies (P < 0.001).
Conclusions: contrary to the conventional view that glaucoma spares central vision, we find that glaucomatous damage causes a widespread loss of disparity sensitivity across both foveal and peripheral regions. Despite these losses, cortical integration mechanisms appear to be well preserved, suggesting that patients with glaucoma make the best possible use of their remaining binocular function.
aging, binocular disparity, binocular function, disparity integration mechanisms, glaucoma, spatial frequency, visual field loss, Glaucoma, Glaucoma, Open-Angle, Humans, Visual Fields, Vision, Binocular, Aging, Visual Field Tests, Vision Disparity
2
Maiello, Guido
c122b089-1bbc-4d3e-b178-b0a1b31a5295
Kwon, MiYoung
063d98c2-4ae3-4780-a3a6-d75da0221c35
Maiello, Guido
c122b089-1bbc-4d3e-b178-b0a1b31a5295
Kwon, MiYoung
063d98c2-4ae3-4780-a3a6-d75da0221c35
Maiello, Guido and Kwon, MiYoung
(2023)
Despite impaired binocular function, binocular disparity integration across the visual field is spared in normal aging and glaucoma.
Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science, 64 (5), , [2].
(doi:10.1167/iovs.64.5.2).
Abstract
Purpose: to examine how binocularly asymmetric glaucomatous visual field damage affects binocular disparity processing across the visual field.
Methods: we recruited 18 patients with primary open-angle glaucoma, 16 age-matched controls, and 13 young controls. Participants underwent standard clinical assessments of binocular visual acuity, binocular contrast sensitivity, stereoacuity, and perimetry. We employed a previously validated psychophysical procedure to measure how sensitivity to binocular disparity varied across spatial frequencies and visual field sectors (i.e., with full-field stimuli spanning the central 21° of the visual field and with stimuli restricted to annular regions spanning 0°–3°, 3°–9°, or 9°–21°). We employed measurements with annular stimuli to model different possible scenarios regarding how disparity information is combined across visual field sectors. We adjudicated between potential mechanisms by comparing model predictions to the patterns observed with full-field stimuli.
Results: perimetry confirmed that patients with glaucoma exhibited binocularly asymmetric visual field damage (P < 0.001). Across participant groups, foveal regions preferentially processed disparities at finer spatial scales, whereas periphery regions were tuned for coarser scales (P < 0.001). Disparity sensitivity also decreased from fovea to periphery (P < 0.001) and across participant groups (Ps < 0.01). Finally, similar to controls, patients with glaucoma exhibited near-optimal disparity integration, specifically at low spatial frequencies (P < 0.001).
Conclusions: contrary to the conventional view that glaucoma spares central vision, we find that glaucomatous damage causes a widespread loss of disparity sensitivity across both foveal and peripheral regions. Despite these losses, cortical integration mechanisms appear to be well preserved, suggesting that patients with glaucoma make the best possible use of their remaining binocular function.
Text
i1552-5783-64-5-2_1683021786.0186
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More information
Accepted/In Press date: 7 April 2023
e-pub ahead of print date: 2 May 2023
Additional Information:
Funding Information:
Supported by the DFG (German Research Foundation: project No. 222641018-SFB/TRR 135 TP C1), NIH/NEI Grant R01 EY027857, and Research to Prevent Blindness (RPB)/Lions’ Clubs International Foundation (LCIF) Low Vision Research Award.
Keywords:
aging, binocular disparity, binocular function, disparity integration mechanisms, glaucoma, spatial frequency, visual field loss, Glaucoma, Glaucoma, Open-Angle, Humans, Visual Fields, Vision, Binocular, Aging, Visual Field Tests, Vision Disparity
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 484855
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/484855
ISSN: 0146-0404
PURE UUID: 0486fdb8-f492-4bf4-855a-20658da14781
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Date deposited: 23 Nov 2023 17:34
Last modified: 18 Mar 2024 04:11
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Author:
Guido Maiello
Author:
MiYoung Kwon
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