Word Mode: a crowding-free reading protocol for individuals with macular disease

Abstract

Central retinal loss through macular disease markedly reduces the ability to read largely because identification of a word using peripheral vision is negatively influenced by nearby text, a phenomenon termed visual crowding. Here, we present a novel peripheral reading protocol, termed Word Mode, that eliminates crowding by presenting each word in isolation but in a position that mimics its natural position in the line of text being read, with each new word elicited using a self-paced button press. We used a gaze-contingent paradigm to simulate a central scotoma in four normally-sighted observers, and measured oral reading speed for text positioned 7.5° in the inferior field. Compared with reading whole sentences, our crowding-free protocol increased peripheral reading speeds by up to a factor of seven, resulted in significantly fewer reading errors and fixations per sentence, and reduced both the critical print size and the text size required for spot reading by 0.2–0.3 logMAR. We conclude that the level of reading efficiency afforded by the crowding-free reading protocol Word Mode may return reading as a viable activity to many individuals with macular disease.

The inhibitory effect of word neighborhood size when reading with central field loss is modulated by word predictability and reading proficiency

“…3 ). As opposed to other reading paradigms specifically designed for low vision, such as “word mode” 34 , self-paced reading allows to present words individually while still maintaining a whole sentence view and therefore to remain closer to the visual constraints of natural reading (e.g., crowding). Participants were instructed to read each sentence aloud as quickly and accurately as possible while revealing each word one at a time using keyboard presses, with the possibility to unmask backward as many times as they wanted.…”

The temporal dynamics of visual crowding in letter recognition: Modulating crowding with alternating flicker presentations

“…Temporal manipulations have also been adapted for reading and word recognition tasks. For example, sentences presented one word at a time, sometimes in the same spatial location to minimize eye movements, can impart some reading benefits ( Rubin & Turano, 1992 ; Wallis, Yang, & Anderson, 2018 ). Additionally, Haberthy and Yu (2016) presented individual words to participants 10° below fixation, finding that small text was read more quickly if the letters composing the word were presented one at a time (moving window condition), or if a single obscured letter swept across the word (moving scotoma condition).…”

The temporal dynamics of visual crowding in letter recognition: Modulating crowding with alternating flicker presentations.

“…Temporal manipulations have also been adapted for reading and word recognition tasks. For example, sentences presented one word at a time, sometimes in the same spatial location to minimize eye movements, can impart some reading benefits (Rubin & Turano, 1992;Wallis et al, 2018). Additionally, Haberthy and Yu (2016) presented individual words to participants 10 degrees below fixation, finding that small text was read more quickly if the letters composing the word were presented one at a time (moving window condition), or if a single obscured letter swept across the word (moving scotoma condition).…”