Normal stereopsis provides visual information about spatial relationships that is necessary for efficient performance in many normal activities and occupations. This form of depth-distance information is unavailable to the 3 to 4 percent of the population who have deficient stereopsis or are stereoblind from strabismus during childhood. However, in a real-world environment the perception of depth and distance involves information derived from both binocular and monocular cues, and the perceptual impact of stereodeficiencies will depend on whether or not an individual can compensate for his/her reduced stereopsis by an increased sensitivity to non-stereoscopic depth cues. The long-term objective of the proposed research is to gain a better understanding of the functional significance of stereodeficiencies caused by a period of abnormal binocular vision during infancy. The principal investigations will examine two alternatives for the development of depth perception in the absence of the primary binocular depth cue: 1) subjects with deficient stereopsis may utilize monocular depth cues more precisely than subjects with normal stereopsis (compensation hypothesis), or 2) normal stereopsis may be required to learn the precise use of non-stereoscopic cues and, thus, stereodeficient subjects also are less sensitive to monocular (empirical) depth information (Calibration hypothesis). The proposed experiments involve psychophysical investigations of monkeys and humans with reduced stereoacuities. Depth discrimination functions for combinations of binocular (stereopsis) and monocular (perspective cues and motion parallax) depth cues will determine the relative sensitivities of the separate cues and the modes of interaction between cues. The overall results of the proposed studies should provide information that is important for establishing treatment protocols for infantile strabismus. If children can compensate for a loss of stereopsis by more efficient use of empirical depth cues, then early treatment to preserve stereopsis is not imperative. On the other hand, if normal stereopsis is necessary for the development of normal sensitivities to all depth cues, then the early treatment of binocular vision anomalies is paramount.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Eye Institute (NEI)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01EY001139-29
Application #
6836517
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZRG1-SSS-R (02))
Program Officer
Oberdorfer, Michael
Project Start
1978-01-01
Project End
2006-08-31
Budget Start
2005-01-01
Budget End
2006-08-31
Support Year
29
Fiscal Year
2005
Total Cost
$297,000
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Houston
Department
Ophthalmology
Type
Schools of Optometry/Ophthalmol
DUNS #
036837920
City
Houston
State
TX
Country
United States
Zip Code
77204
Patel, Nimesh; McAllister, Faith; Pardon, Laura et al. (2018) The effects of graded intraocular pressure challenge on the optic nerve head. Exp Eye Res 169:79-90
McAllister, Faith; Harwerth, Ronald; Patel, Nimesh (2018) Assessing the True Intraocular Pressure in the Non-human Primate. Optom Vis Sci 95:113-119
Patel, Nimesh B; Hung, Li-Fang; Harwerth, Ronald S (2017) Postnatal maturation of the fovea in Macaca mulatta using optical coherence tomography. Exp Eye Res 164:8-21
Ivers, Kevin M; Sredar, Nripun; Patel, Nimesh B et al. (2015) In Vivo Changes in Lamina Cribrosa Microarchitecture and Optic Nerve Head Structure in Early Experimental Glaucoma. PLoS One 10:e0134223
Patel, Nimesh B; Sullivan-Mee, Michael; Harwerth, Ronald S (2014) The relationship between retinal nerve fiber layer thickness and optic nerve head neuroretinal rim tissue in glaucoma. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 55:6802-16
Patel, Nimesh B; Lim, Mimi; Gajjar, Avni et al. (2014) Age-associated changes in the retinal nerve fiber layer and optic nerve head. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 55:5134-43
Luo, Xunda; Patel, Nimesh B; Rajagopalan, Lakshmi P et al. (2014) Relation between macular retinal ganglion cell/inner plexiform layer thickness and multifocal electroretinogram measures in experimental glaucoma. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 55:4512-24
Hanlon, Samuel D; Smith, C Wayne; Sauter, Marika N et al. (2014) Integrin-dependent neutrophil migration in the injured mouse cornea. Exp Eye Res 120:61-70
Patel, Nimesh B; Garcia, Brenda; Harwerth, Ronald S (2012) Influence of anterior segment power on the scan path and RNFL thickness using SD-OCT. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 53:5788-98
Wheat, Joe L; Rangaswamy, Nalini V; Harwerth, Ronald S (2012) Correlating RNFL thickness by OCT with perimetric sensitivity in glaucoma patients. J Glaucoma 21:95-101

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