Chang-Bing Huang

Perceptual learning improves contrast sensitivity and visual acuity in adults with anisometropic amblyopia

To evaluate the effects of perceptual learning on contrast-sensitivity function and visual acuity in adult observers with amblyopia, 23 anisometropic amblyopes with a mean age of 19.3 years were recruited and divided into three groups. Subjects in Group I were trained in grating detection in the amblyopic eye near pre-training cut-off spatial frequency. Group II received a training regimen of repeated contrast-sensitivity function measurements in the amblyopic eye. Group III received no training. We found that training substantially improved visual acuity and contrast-sensitivity functions in the amblyopic eyes of all the observers in Groups I and II, although no significant performance improvement was observed in Group III. For observers in Group I, performance improvements in the amblyopic eyes were broadly tuned in spatial frequency and generalized to the fellow eyes. The latter result was not found in Group II. In a few cases tested, improvements in visual acuity following training showed about 90% retention for at least 1 year. We concluded that the visual system of adult amblyopes might still retain substantial plasticity. Perceptual learning shows potential as a clinical tool for treating child and adult amblyopia.

Broad bandwidth of perceptual learning in the visual system of adults with anisometropic amblyopia

Recent studies have demonstrated that training adult amblyopes in simple visual tasks leads to significant improvements of their spatial vision. One critical question is: How much can training with one particular stimulus and task generalize to other stimuli and tasks? In this study, we estimated the bandwidth of perceptual learning in teenage and adult observers with anisometropic amblyopia and compared it to that of normal observers. We measured and compared contrast sensitivity functions—i.e., sensitivity to sine-wave gratings of various spatial frequencies—before and after training at a single spatial frequency in teenagers and adults with and without amblyopia. We found that the bandwidth of perceptual learning in the amblyopic visual system is much broader than that of the normal visual system. The broader bandwidth, suggesting more plasticity and wider generalization in the amblyopic visual system, provides a strong empirical and theoretical basis for perceptual learning as a potential treatment for amblyopia.

Deficient binocular combination reveals mechanisms of anisometropic amblyopia: signal attenuation and interocular inhibition.

Amblyopia is a developmental disorder that results in deficits of monocular and binocular vision. It is presently unclear whether these deficits result from attenuation of signals in the amblyopic eye, inhibition by signals in the fellow eye, or both. In this study, we characterize mechanisms underlying anisometropic amblyopia using a binocular phase and contrast combination paradigm and a contrast gain control model. Subjects dichoptically viewed two slightly different images and reported the perceived contrast and phase of the resulting cyclopean percept. We found that the properties of binocular combination were abnormal in many aspects in amblyopic vision. The observed abnormalities can be explained by a combination of (1) attenuated monocular signal in the amblyopic eye, (2) stronger interocular contrast gain control from the fellow eye to the signal in the amblyopic eye (direct interocular inhibition), and (3) stronger interocular contrast gain control from the fellow eye to the contrast gain control signal from the amblyopic eye (indirect interocular inhibition). We conclude that anisometropic amblyopia led to both monocular and interocular deficits. A complete understanding of the mechanisms underlying amblyopia requires studies of both monocular deficits and binocular interactions.

Binocular combination in anisometropic amblyopia.

Using a suprathreshold binocular summation paradigm developed by J. Ding and G. Sperling (2006, 2007) for normal observers, we investigated suprathreshold cyclopean perception in anisometropic amblyopia. In this paradigm, two suprathreshold sinewave gratings of the same spatial frequency but different spatial phases are presented to the left and right eyes of the observer. The perceived phase of the binocularly combined cyclopean image is measured as a function of the contrast ratio between the images in the two eyes. We found that both eyes contributed equally in normal subjects. However, stimulus of equal contrast was weighted much less in the amblyopic eye relative to the fellow eye in binocular combination. For the five amblyopes, the effective contrast of the amblyopic eye in binocular combination is equal to about 11%-28% of the same contrast presented to the fellow eye, much less than the ratio of contrast sensitivity between the two eyes (0.73-1.42). The results from the current study have many important implications in amblyopia research and treatment.

Visual perceptual learning

Perceptual learning refers to the phenomenon that practice or training in perceptual tasks often substantially improves perceptual performance. Often exhibiting stimulus or task specificities, perceptual learning differs from learning in the cognitive or motor domains. Research on perceptual learning reveals important plasticity in adult perceptual systems, and as well as the limitations in the information processing of the human observer. In this article, we review the behavioral results, mechanisms, physiological basis, computational models, and applications of visual perceptual learning.

qCSF in Clinical Application: Efficient Characterization and Classification of Contrast Sensitivity Functions in Amblyopia

PURPOSE The qCSF method is a novel procedure for rapid measurement of spatial contrast sensitivity functions (CSFs). It combines Bayesian adaptive inference with a trial-to-trial information gain strategy, to directly estimate four parameters defining the observers CSF. In the present study, the suitability of the qCSF method for clinical application was examined. METHODS The qCSF method was applied to rapidly assess spatial CSFs in 10 normal and 8 amblyopic participants. The qCSF was evaluated for accuracy, precision, test-retest reliability, suitability of CSF model assumptions, and accuracy of amblyopia screening. RESULTS qCSF estimates obtained with as few as 50 trials matched those obtained with 300 Ψ trials. The precision of qCSF estimates obtained with 120 and 130 trials, in normal subjects and amblyopes, matched the precision of 300 Ψ trials. For both groups and both methods, test-retest sensitivity estimates were well matched (all R > 0.94). The qCSF model assumptions were valid for 8 of 10 normal participants and all amblyopic participants. Measures of the area under log CSF (AULCSF) and the cutoff spatial frequency (cutSF) were lower in the amblyopia group; these differences were captured within 50 qCSF trials. Amblyopia was detected at an approximately 80% correct rate in 50 trials, when a logistic regression model was used with AULCSF and cutSF as predictors. CONCLUSIONS The qCSF method is sufficiently rapid, accurate, and precise in measuring CSFs in normal and amblyopic persons. It has great potential for clinical practice.

Contrast and phase combination in binocular vision.

Background How the visual system combines information from the two eyes to form a unitary binocular representation of the external world is a fundamental question in vision science that has been the focus of many psychophysical and physiological investigations. Ding & Sperling (2006) measured perceived phase of the cyclopean image, and developed a binocular combination model in which each eye exerts gain control on the other eyes signal and over the other eyes gain control. Critically, the relative phase of the monocular sine-waves plays a central role. Methodology/Principal Findings We used the Ding-Sperling paradigm but measured both the perceived contrast and phase of cyclopean images in three hundred and eighty combinations of base contrast, interocular contrast ratio, eye origin of the probe, and interocular phase difference. We found that the perceived contrast of the cyclopean image was independent of the relative phase of the two monocular gratings, although the perceived phase depended on the relative phase and contrast ratio of the monocular images. We developed a new multi-pathway contrast-gain control model (MCM) that elaborates the Ding-Sperling binocular combination model in two ways: (1) phase and contrast of the cyclopean images are computed in separate pathways, although with shared cross-eye contrast-gain control; and (2) phase-independent local energy from the two monocular images are used in binocular contrast combination. With three free parameters, the model yielded an excellent account of data from all the experimental conditions. Conclusions/Significance Binocular phase combination depends on the relative phase and contrast ratio of the monocular images but binocular contrast combination is phase-invariant. Our findings suggest the involvement of at least two separate pathways in binocular combination.

Mechanisms underlying perceptual learning of contrast detection in adults with anisometropic amblyopia.

What underlies contrast sensitivity improvements in adults with anisometropic amblyopia following perceptual learning in grating contrast detection? In this paper, we adopted the external noise approach (Z.-L. Lu & B. A. Dosher, 1998) to identify the mechanisms underlying perceptual learning in adults with anisometropic amblyopia. By measuring contrast thresholds in a range of external noise conditions at two performance levels (79.3% and 70.7%), we found that a mixture of internal additive noise reduction and external noise exclusion underlay training induced contrast sensitivity improvements in adults with anisometropic amblyopia. In comparison, normal adults exhibited only small amount of external noise exclusion under the same training conditions. The results suggest that neural plasticity may be more robust in amblyopia, lending further support of perceptual learning as a potential treatment for adult amblyopia.

Transitions between Central and Peripheral Vision Create Spatial/Temporal Distortions: A Hypothesis Concerning the Perceived Break of the Curveball

Background The human visual system does not treat all parts of an image equally: the central segments of an image, which fall on the fovea, are processed with a higher resolution than the segments that fall in the visual periphery. Even though the differences between foveal and peripheral resolution are large, these differences do not usually disrupt our perception of seamless visual space. Here we examine a motion stimulus in which the shift from foveal to peripheral viewing creates a dramatic spatial/temporal discontinuity. Methodology/Principal Findings The stimulus consists of a descending disk (global motion) with an internal moving grating (local motion). When observers view the disk centrally, they perceive both global and local motion (i.e., observers see the disks vertical descent and the internal spinning). When observers view the disk peripherally, the internal portion appears stationary, and the disk appears to descend at an angle. The angle of perceived descent increases as the observer views the stimulus from further in the periphery. We examine the first- and second-order information content in the display with the use of a three-dimensional Fourier analysis and show how our results can be used to describe perceived spatial/temporal discontinuities in real-world situations. Conclusions/Significance The perceived shift of the disks direction in the periphery is consistent with a model in which foveal processing separates first- and second-order motion information while peripheral processing integrates first- and second-order motion information. We argue that the perceived distortion may influence real-world visual observations. To this end, we present a hypothesis and analysis of the perception of the curveball and rising fastball in the sport of baseball. The curveball is a physically measurable phenomenon: the imbalance of forces created by the balls spin causes the ball to deviate from a straight line and to follow a smooth parabolic path. However, the curveball is also a perceptual puzzle because batters often report that the flight of the ball undergoes a dramatic and nearly discontinuous shift in position as the ball nears home plate. We suggest that the perception of a discontinuous shift in position results from differences between foveal and peripheral processing.

Do We Dream in Color? Cultural Variations and Skepticism

In the United States, the rise and fall of the opinion that we dream in black and white coincided with the rise and fall of black and white film media over the course of the 20th century, suggesting that our opinions about the coloration of our dreams are subject to cultural influences. This study generalizes that conclusion cross-culturally. Three groups of Chinese respondents, similar in age but differing in history of colored media exposure, were given questionnaires replicating those of Middleton (1942) and Schwitzgebel (2003). As expected, the groups with longer histories of colored media exposure reported more colored dreaming.