Macular asymmetry analysis in sighting ocular dominance

Abstract

Sighting ocular dominance is the preference of one eye over the other in terms of sighting. In this study, our aim was to examine differences in interocular and intraocular macular thickness, interocular fovea-optic disc angle, and foveal blood vessel asymmetries associated with sighting ocular dominance. Ninety eyes of 45 healthy young adults were included in this prospective, cross-sectional, and comparative study. Sighting ocular dominance was determined by a hole-in-the-card test. Macular thickness measurements were taken and posterior pole asymmetry analysis conducted with spectral domain optical coherence tomography. The optic disc-fovea angle and visible foveal blood vessel counts were calculated by using the posterior pole retinal images of optical coherence tomography. The mean age of the participants was 27.3 (standard deviation [SD] 6.6) years. There were 20 males and 25 females. The mean total macular area thickness, and mean macular thickness of the superior and inferior hemispheres of the dominant and nondominant eyes were similar (p > 0.05). Macular asymmetry analysis revealed no statistically significant interocular difference (p > 0.05). In the dominant eyes, the mean optic disc-fovea angle was 5.24° (SD 1.77), whereas it was 5.49° (SD 2.58) in the nondominant eyes (p = 0.51). The number of visible blood vessels passing through the fovea was similar in the dominant and nondominant eyes (p > 0.05). These results suggested that interocular and intraocular macular thickness differences, interocular fovea-optic disc angle differences, and number of visible foveal blood vessels are not associated with sighting ocular dominance.

Lateral thinking – Interocular symmetry and asymmetry in neurovascular patterning, in health and disease

“…However, ocular dominance is not associated with interocular macula thickness asymmetry (Pekel et al, 2014), but possibly associated with macular GC-IPL thickness (Choi et al, 2016) and RNFL thickness (Choi et al, 2014), although the preponderance for right-sided dominance (in common with motor dominance) is a confounding issue. In fact, work from animal models suggests ocular dominance is a property of the visual cortex, rather than the anterior visual pathway, with recent MRI techniques suggesting this may be true for humans also (Jensen et al,Commented [ET5]: It would be nice, for consistency, to go back to the question you asked in the abstract (when are the two eyes "importantly different"? )…”

Optic Disc - Fovea Angle: The Beijing Eye Study 2011

“…Mean disc-fovea angle was in the right eye 6.49 ± 3.25° and in the left eye 5.80 ± 3.29° without a statistically significant difference between both eyes ( P = 0.13). Pekel and associates included 90 eyes of 45 healthy individuals with a mean age of 27.3 ± 6.6 years into their study and found a mean disc-fovea angle of 5.24 ± 1.77° in dominant eyes and of 5.49 ± 2.58° in the nondominant eyes without a significant ( P = 0.51) between both [ 3 ]. Rohrschneider measured the disc-fovea angle in 104 healthy individuals with an age ranging between about 20 years and 80 years and found a mean value of 5.6 ± 3.3° [ 1 ].…”

Interleaved Optical Coherence Tomography: Clinical and Laboratory Biomarkers in Patients with Diabetic Macular Edema

“…Pekel et al (2014) published a study on inter-ocular asymmetry regarding the OCT measurements (macular thickness, optic disc, fovea angle values, and foveal visible blood vessel count), taking into account the ocular dominance [ 34 ]. They hypothesized that the foveal area should be poorly vascularized in the dominant eye, making the light passage easier.…”

“…This hypothesis did not prove to be true because the blood vessel count was similar between the two eyes. They concluded that there is no significant symmetry difference between eyes [ 34 ]. Our study is limited by the fact that we did not evaluate the eye dominance and therefore cannot assess the relationship between the dominant eye and the more affected eye.…”