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Morsi AY, Goffaux V, Greenwood JA. The resolution of face perception varies systematically across the visual field. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0303400. [PMID: 38739635 PMCID: PMC11090322 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0303400] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2023] [Accepted: 04/24/2024] [Indexed: 05/16/2024] Open
Abstract
Visual abilities tend to vary predictably across the visual field-for simple low-level stimuli, visibility is better along the horizontal vs. vertical meridian and in the lower vs. upper visual field. In contrast, face perception abilities have been reported to show either distinct or entirely idiosyncratic patterns of variation in peripheral vision, suggesting a dissociation between the spatial properties of low- and higher-level vision. To assess this link more clearly, we extended methods used in low-level vision to develop an acuity test for face perception, measuring the smallest size at which facial gender can be reliably judged in peripheral vision. In 3 experiments, we show the characteristic inversion effect, with better acuity for upright faces than inverted, demonstrating the engagement of high-level face-selective processes in peripheral vision. We also observe a clear advantage for gender acuity on the horizontal vs. vertical meridian and a smaller-but-consistent lower- vs. upper-field advantage. These visual field variations match those of low-level vision, indicating that higher-level face processing abilities either inherit or actively maintain the characteristic patterns of spatial selectivity found in early vision. The commonality of these spatial variations throughout the visual hierarchy means that the location of faces in our visual field systematically influences our perception of them.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anisa Y. Morsi
- Experimental Psychology, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Valérie Goffaux
- Psychological Sciences Research Institute, UCLouvain, Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
- Institute of Neuroscience, UCLouvain, Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
| | - John A. Greenwood
- Experimental Psychology, University College London, London, United Kingdom
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Moshkovitz A, Lev M, Polat U. Crowding under scotopic and photopic vision in albino and normal-sighted participants. Sci Rep 2024; 14:8234. [PMID: 38589506 PMCID: PMC11001935 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-58369-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2023] [Accepted: 03/28/2024] [Indexed: 04/10/2024] Open
Abstract
Crowding is a phenomenon in which the ability to recognize an object in a clutter deteriorates. It is, therefore, a fundamental aspect of object recognition and crucial in deciphering resolution. For visually impaired individuals, deficiency in crowding has a tremendous effect on vision and may reflect and predict the amount of deterioration in vision. It is well established that albinos suffer much more from crowding than normally sighted individuals under daylight luminance conditions. However, to our knowledge, this study is the first to investigate crowding in albino participants under low light conditions. In this study, we explored the crowding effect in a group of albino participants (n = 9) and a control group of normally sighted participants (n = 9). Crowding was conducted under daylight (photopic vision) and low light (scotopic vision). We measured the visual acuity threshold under crowding in three-letter spacing (0.5, 1, and 1.5) and compared it to a single target. Results indicate that albino participants experienced stronger crowding than the control under the photopic condition, while crowding under the scotopic condition was apparent in the albino but abolished for the control group. These findings highlight the importance of considering luminance when discussing the visually impaired population in general. In particular, it suggests that crowding in albinism is based on a peripheral-like mechanism and may indicate a cessation in visual development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Avital Moshkovitz
- School of Optometry and Vision Sciences, Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
| | - Maria Lev
- School of Optometry and Vision Sciences, Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
| | - Uri Polat
- School of Optometry and Vision Sciences, Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel.
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Tanriverdi D, Cornelissen FW. Rapid assessment of peripheral visual crowding. Front Neurosci 2024; 18:1332701. [PMID: 38629049 PMCID: PMC11019380 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2024.1332701] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2023] [Accepted: 03/12/2024] [Indexed: 04/19/2024] Open
Abstract
Visual crowding, the phenomenon in which the ability to distinguish objects is hindered in cluttered environments, has critical implications for various ophthalmic and neurological disorders. Traditional methods for assessing crowding involve time-consuming and attention-demanding psychophysical tasks, making routine examination challenging. This study sought to compare trial-based Alternative Forced-Choice (AFC) paradigms using either manual or eye movement responses and a continuous serial search paradigm employing eye movement responses to evaluate their efficiency in rapidly assessing peripheral crowding. In all paradigms, we manipulated the orientation of a central Gabor patch, which could be presented alone or surrounded by six Gabor patches. We measured participants' target orientation discrimination thresholds using adaptive psychophysics to assess crowding magnitude. Depending on the paradigm, participants either made saccadic eye movements to the target location or responded manually by pressing a key or moving a mouse. We compared these paradigms in terms of crowding magnitude, assessment time, and paradigm demand. Our results indicate that employing eye movement-based paradigms for assessing peripheral visual crowding yields results faster compared to paradigms that necessitate manual responses. Furthermore, when considering similar levels of confidence in the threshold measurements, both a novel serial search paradigm and an eye movement-based 6AFC paradigm proved to be the most efficient in assessing crowding magnitude. Additionally, crowding estimates obtained through either the continuous serial search or the 6AFC paradigms were consistently higher than those obtained using the 2AFC paradigms. Lastly, participants did not report a clear difference between paradigms in terms of their perceived demand. In conclusion, both the continuous serial search and the 6AFC eye movement response paradigms enable a fast assessment of visual crowding. These approaches may potentially facilitate future routine crowding assessment. However, the usability of these paradigms in specific patient populations and specific purposes should be assessed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dilce Tanriverdi
- Laboratory for Experimental Ophthalmology, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
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Morelli F, Catalano G, Scognamillo I, Balzarotti N, Luparia A, Olivier L, Bertone C, Gori M, Signorini S. Visual Function and Neuropsychological Profiling of Idiopathic Infantile Nystagmus. Brain Sci 2023; 13:1348. [PMID: 37759948 PMCID: PMC10526276 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci13091348] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2023] [Revised: 09/08/2023] [Accepted: 09/14/2023] [Indexed: 09/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Though considered a benign condition, idiopathic infantile nystagmus (IIN) may be associated with decreased visual acuity and oculo-motor abnormalities, resulting in developmental delays and poor academic performance. Nevertheless, the specific visual function profile of IIN and its possible impact on neuropsychological development have been poorly investigated. To fill this gap, we retrospectively collected the clinical data of 60 children presenting with IIN over a 10-year period (43 male; mean age of 7 years, range of 2 months-17 years, 9 months). The majority of the subjects in our cohort presented with reduced visual acuity for far distances and normal visual acuity for near distances, associated with oculo-motor abnormalities. The overall scores of cognitive and visual-cognitive tests were in the normal range, but revealed peculiar cognitive and visual-cognitive profiles, defined by specific frailties in processing speed and visual-motor integration. The same neuropsychological profiles characterize many neurodevelopmental disorders and may express a transnosographic vulnerability of the dorsal stream. As the first study to explore the neuropsychologic competencies in children with IIN, our study unveils the presence of subclinical frailties that need to be addressed to sustain academic and social inclusion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Federica Morelli
- Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Via Agostino Bassi 21, 27100 Pavia, Italy; (F.M.); (I.S.)
- Developmental Neuro-Ophthalmology Unit, IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Via Mondino 2, 27100 Pavia, Italy; (A.L.); (L.O.); (S.S.)
| | - Guido Catalano
- Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Via Agostino Bassi 21, 27100 Pavia, Italy; (F.M.); (I.S.)
| | - Ilaria Scognamillo
- Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Via Agostino Bassi 21, 27100 Pavia, Italy; (F.M.); (I.S.)
| | - Nicolò Balzarotti
- Unit for Visually Impaired People, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Via Enrico Melen 82, 16100 Genova, Italy; (N.B.); (M.G.)
| | - Antonella Luparia
- Developmental Neuro-Ophthalmology Unit, IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Via Mondino 2, 27100 Pavia, Italy; (A.L.); (L.O.); (S.S.)
| | - Lucrezia Olivier
- Developmental Neuro-Ophthalmology Unit, IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Via Mondino 2, 27100 Pavia, Italy; (A.L.); (L.O.); (S.S.)
| | - Chiara Bertone
- Department of Surgical and Clinical, Diagnostic and Pediatric Sciences, Section of Ophthalmology, IRCCS Fondazione Policlinico San Matteo, University of Pavia, 27100 Pavia, Italy;
| | - Monica Gori
- Unit for Visually Impaired People, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Via Enrico Melen 82, 16100 Genova, Italy; (N.B.); (M.G.)
| | - Sabrina Signorini
- Developmental Neuro-Ophthalmology Unit, IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Via Mondino 2, 27100 Pavia, Italy; (A.L.); (L.O.); (S.S.)
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Farahbakhsh M, Anderson EJ, Maimon-Mor RO, Rider A, Greenwood JA, Hirji N, Zaman S, Jones PR, Schwarzkopf DS, Rees G, Michaelides M, Dekker TM. A demonstration of cone function plasticity after gene therapy in achromatopsia. Brain 2022; 145:3803-3815. [PMID: 35998912 PMCID: PMC9679164 DOI: 10.1093/brain/awac226] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2021] [Revised: 05/27/2022] [Accepted: 06/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent advances in regenerative therapy have placed the treatment of previously incurable eye diseases within arms' reach. Achromatopsia is a severe monogenic heritable retinal disease that disrupts cone function from birth, leaving patients with complete colour blindness, low acuity, photosensitivity and nystagmus. While successful gene-replacement therapy in non-primate models of achromatopsia has raised widespread hopes for clinical treatment, it was yet to be determined if and how these therapies can induce new cone function in the human brain. Using a novel multimodal approach, we demonstrate for the first time that gene therapy can successfully activate dormant cone-mediated pathways in children with achromatopsia (CNGA3- and CNGB3-associated, 10-15 years). To test this, we combined functional MRI population receptive field mapping and psychophysics with stimuli that selectively measure cone photoreceptor signalling. We measured cortical and visual cone function before and after gene therapy in four paediatric patients, evaluating treatment-related change against benchmark data from untreated patients (n = 9) and normal-sighted participants (n = 28). After treatment, two of the four children displayed strong evidence for novel cone-mediated signals in visual cortex, with a retinotopic pattern that was not present in untreated achromatopsia and which is highly unlikely to emerge by chance. Importantly, this change was paired with a significant improvement in psychophysical measures of cone-mediated visual function. These improvements were specific to the treated eye, and provide strong evidence for successful read-out and use of new cone-mediated information. These data show for the first time that gene replacement therapy in achromatopsia within the plastic period of development can awaken dormant cone-signalling pathways after years of deprivation. This reveals unprecedented neural plasticity in the developing human nervous system and offers great promise for emerging regenerative therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mahtab Farahbakhsh
- UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, University College London, London EC1V 9EL, UK
- Experimental Psychology, University College London, London WC1H 0AP, UK
| | - Elaine J Anderson
- UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, University College London, London EC1V 9EL, UK
- UCL Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London WC1N 3AZ, UK
- The Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, University College London, London WC1N 3AR, UK
| | - Roni O Maimon-Mor
- UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, University College London, London EC1V 9EL, UK
- Experimental Psychology, University College London, London WC1H 0AP, UK
| | - Andy Rider
- UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, University College London, London EC1V 9EL, UK
| | - John A Greenwood
- Experimental Psychology, University College London, London WC1H 0AP, UK
| | - Nashila Hirji
- UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, University College London, London EC1V 9EL, UK
- Moorfields Eye Hospital, London EC1V 2PD, UK
| | - Serena Zaman
- UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, University College London, London EC1V 9EL, UK
- Moorfields Eye Hospital, London EC1V 2PD, UK
| | - Pete R Jones
- UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, University College London, London EC1V 9EL, UK
- Division of Optometry and Visual Sciences; School of Health Sciences; City, University of London, London EC1V 0HB, UK
| | - D Samuel Schwarzkopf
- Experimental Psychology, University College London, London WC1H 0AP, UK
- School of Optometry and Vision Science, University of Auckland, Auckland 1023, New Zealand
| | - Geraint Rees
- UCL Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London WC1N 3AZ, UK
- The Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, University College London, London WC1N 3AR, UK
| | - Michel Michaelides
- UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, University College London, London EC1V 9EL, UK
- Moorfields Eye Hospital, London EC1V 2PD, UK
| | - Tessa M Dekker
- UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, University College London, London EC1V 9EL, UK
- Experimental Psychology, University College London, London WC1H 0AP, UK
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Herzog MH, Sayim B. Crowding: Recent advances and perspectives. J Vis 2022; 22:15. [DOI: 10.1167/jov.22.12.15] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Michael H. Herzog
- Laboratory of Psychophysics, Brain Mind Institute, Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Bilge Sayim
- Sciences Cognitives et Sciences Affectives (SCALab), CNRS, UMR 9193, University of Lille, Lille, France
- Institute of Psychology, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
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