The role of binocular vision in the control and development of visually guided upper limb movements

Abstract

Vision provides a key sensory input for the performance of fine motor skills, which are fundamentally important to daily life activities, as well as skilled occupational and recreational performance. Binocular visual function is a crucial aspect of vision that requires the ability to combine inputs from both eyes into a unified percept. Summation and fusion are two aspects of binocular processing associated with performance advantages, including more efficient visuomotor control of upper limb movements. This paper uses the multiple processes model of limb control to explore how binocular viewing could facilitate the planning and execution of prehension movements in adults and typically developing children. Insight into the contribution of binocularity to visuomotor control also comes from examining motor performance in individuals with amblyopia, a condition characterized by reduced visual acuity and poor binocular function. Overall, research in this field has advanced our understanding of the role of binocular vision in the development and performance of visuomotor skills, the first step towards developing assessment tools and targeted rehabilitation for children with neurodevelopment disorders at risk of poor visuomotor outcomes. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue ‘New approaches to 3D vision’.

New Approaches to 3D Vision

“…So, I was completely unprepared for my new appreciation of space… (Barry [376], p.111) Extrapolated to the world population, stereo vision deficits affect over half a billion people, so a key concern is better understanding what causes stereo vision deficits, how they affect our interactions with the world, and how they might be treated. In this issue Niechwiej-Szwedo, Colpa & Wong [379] review the effect that amblyopia (lazy eye) has on the development of reaching and grasping, documenting how young children lag behind their peers, and older children develop compensatory strategies.…”

An early force prediction control scheme using multimodal sensing of electromyography and digit force signals

“…However, multiple decision making complexities are involved within the human body to perform these tasks. The complexities include decision making for the type of gesture required to grasp the object, the selection of the grip force and feedback information from the sensory system of the hand and the visual sensory system of the eyes [ [1] , [2] , [3] , [4] ]. The decoding of the different muscle and brain signals has resulted in the designing of bionic devices.…”

Adapting to Altered Sensory Input: Effects of Induced Paresthesia on Goal-Directed Movement Planning and Execution

“…Limited visual input leads to decreased accuracy and precision. The availability of visual feedback results in the correction of motor planning errors during the latter phase of the movement trajectory [ 7 ].…”

“…There is extensive research on the role of vision in controlling goal-directed movement of the upper limb due to the rich spatial information that vision can provide during movements [ 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 ]. Somatosensory information has a complementary role in the control of human movement by providing information about the location of the limb in the space as well as the relative location of limbs to each other [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 7 ]. Thus, it is important to know how these two major sources of information are integrated for voluntary limb control.…”