A novel method for utilizing dichoptic attention tasks in amblyopic training

Abstract

There is converging evidence of attention deficits in individuals with amblyopia. It has been reported that selective visual attention is allocated preferentially toward the non-amblyopic fellow eye in strabismic ambloypes. This attention allocation bias between the eyes is found related to visual suppression in amblyopia. In this study, I introduced a novel method, which uses dichoptic attention tasks to train individuals with amblyopia and has been demonstrated alleviating visual suppression and improving visual functions while reducing interocular attention bias in adults with amblyopia. The method consists of the following components:•The training tasks include three attention factors (searching, counting and cueing) to implement selective visual attention to the amblyopic eye dichoptically.•With a dichoptic approach, the targets are presented to the amblyopic eye while the distractors are simultaneously presented to the fellow eye. The tasks are to search and count the targets that are presented to the cued eye among the distractors.•The training stimuli avoid typical contrast sensitivity-based tasks, and the targets are highly visible allowing them to be seen by the amblyopic eye with poor visual acuity.