Recovering stereo vision by squashing virtual bugs in a virtual reality environment

Abstract

One contribution of 15 to a theme issue 'Vision in our three-dimensional world'. Stereopsis is the rich impression of three-dimensionality, based on binocular disparity-the differences between the two retinal images of the same world. However, a substantial proportion of the population is stereo-deficient, and relies mostly on monocular cues to judge the relative depth or distance of objects in the environment. Here we trained adults who were stereo blind or stereodeficient owing to strabismus and/or amblyopia in a natural visuomotor task-a 'bug squashing' game-in a virtual reality environment. The subjects' task was to squash a virtual dichoptic bug on a slanted surface, by hitting it with a physical cylinder they held in their hand. The perceived surface slant was determined by monocular texture and stereoscopic cues, with these cues being either consistent or in conflict, allowing us to track the relative weighting of monocular versus stereoscopic cues as training in the task progressed. Following training most participants showed greater reliance on stereoscopic cues, reduced suppression and improved stereoacuity. Importantly, the traininginduced changes in relative stereo weights were significant predictors of the improvements in stereoacuity. We conclude that some adults deprived of normal binocular vision and insensitive to the disparity information can, with appropriate experience, recover access to more reliable stereoscopic information.This article is part of the themed issue 'Vision in our three-dimensional world'.

Perceptual training yields rapid improvements in visually impaired youth

“…Recent work has demonstrated the therapeutic effectiveness of video game training in visually impaired individuals2324252627. Action video games, unlike traditional perceptual learning tasks, are much more complex in their task demands and stimuli.…”

Three-Dimensional Binocular Eye-Hand Coordination in Normal Vision and with Simulated Visual Impairment

“…Here, we have shown that the link between the oculomotor and hand motor system is unaffected by simulated visual impairment. Thus, eye-hand coordination tasks [94] might be able to provide a boost to visual rehabilitation strategies by enhancing oculomotor control both along the fronto-parallel plane and particularly in depth. This tantalizing idea is further supported by the notion that visual processing in general, not solely oculomotor performance, is enhanced near the hand (which suggests some cross-modality overlap of spatial representations).…”

Vision in our three-dimensional world

“…One paper points to the way in which modern optometric therapeutics is heading: by exercising the visual systems of amblyopes with a focussed and motivating binocular task, Levi et al have successfully promoted the recovery of stereo vision [33]. It remains to be seen whether this perceptual training is awakening a residual stereo capability that was present but somehow suppressed in function, or whether there is a genuine capacity in adult life for building neural connections that were not developed in childhood.…”