Abstract
Perceptual learning of visual tasks is emerging as a promising treatment for amblyopia, a developmental disorder of vision characterized by poor monocular visual acuity. The tasks tested thus far span the gamut from basic psychophysical discriminations to visually complex video games. One end of the spectrum offers precise control over stimulus parameters, whilst the other delivers the benefits of motivation and reward that sustain practice over long periods. Here, we combined the advantages of both approaches by developing a video game that trains contrast sensitivity, which in psychophysical experiments, is associated with significant improvements in visual acuity in amblyopia. Target contrast was varied adaptively in the game to derive a contrast threshold for each session. We tested the game on 20 amblyopic subjects (10 children and 10 adults), who played at home using their amblyopic eye for an average of 37 sessions (approximately 11 h). Contrast thresholds from the game improved reliably for adults but not for children. However, logMAR acuity improved for both groups (mean = 1.3 lines; range = 0–3.6 lines). We present the rationale leading to the development of the game and describe the challenges of incorporating psychophysical methods into game-like settings.
Highlights
In this paper, we approach the challenge of creating a video game based on laboratory tasks shown to improve visual function in individuals with abnormal visual development
Contrast sensitivity and other visual judgments are reduced in the affected eye, and binocular function is degraded or absent (McKee et al, 2003; Levi et al, 2011)
CONTRAST THRESHOLDS Performance of amblyopic children and adults on all training days is shown in Figures 3, 4
Summary
We approach the challenge of creating a video game based on laboratory tasks shown to improve visual function in individuals with abnormal visual development (amblyopia). Amblyopia is a neural rather than optical disorder (Kiorpes and McKee, 1999; Barrett et al, 2004), and clinical treatment comprising occlusion of the nonamblyopic eye aims at strengthening the neural response to input from the amblyopic eye. This treatment is usually administered before 7 years of age, during the critical period of development when visual pathways in the brain are most malleable (Campos, 1995; Daw, 1998). Supplementary treatments for amblyopia that surmount these issues continue to be of interest
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