VISUAL PERCEPTION AND ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE

阿尔茨海默氏症是一种潜伏的疾病，它会削弱 受害者的认知能力。而记忆力方面的投诉 是疾病的标志，知觉障碍也是 很流行。最近的研究表明，有 与早期视觉信息处理相关的严重缺陷 患有阿尔茨海默氏症。证据表明这种视觉效果 阿尔茨海默病患者的经历与 健康的、年迈的成年人。这项提议的前提是 改变的知觉体验可能会对 广泛的知觉-认知功能。 这项研究计划的主要目的是研究 假设阿尔茨海默病患者 在早期体验到明显的视觉感知功能丧失 处于疾病的阶段。目标将通过三个方面进行探索 使用视觉心理物理学和图像工具的特定目标 分析技术。第一个目标是收集纵向的， 关于低空间和高空间对比敏感度的标准数据 疑似阿尔茨海默氏症患者的频率 疾病，以及健康的老年人。预计这将是一次 对视觉功能的测量将显示出明显的视觉功能丧失 阿尔茨海默氏症患者可能是阿尔茨海默病的早期标志 疾病。第二个目标是将空间损失直接联系起来 功能知觉问题的频率敏感性 患者在基本的视觉过程中所经历的 字母识别和模式识别。最后， 视力和/或刺激增强作为干预措施的有效性 减轻知觉损伤严重程度的技术 将在图像工程工作站的帮助下进行探索 这将在该项目中开发。 通过该项目提供的丰富信息将 协助临床医生诊断痴呆症。此外，当 与信息处理的研究相结合 技能，这些数据将帮助临床医生描述真实的 患者在视觉处理方面的功能 域。

Alzheimer's disease is an insidious affliction that cripples the cognitive capabilities of its victims. While memory complaints are the hallmark of the illness, perceptual disorders also are prevalent. Recent research has demonstrated that there are profound deficits in early visual information processing associated with Alzheimer's disease. The evidence suggests that the visual experience of the Alzheimer patient is very different from that of healthy, elderly adults. It is the premise of this proposal that the altered perceptual experiences can have a severe impact on a wide range of perceptual-cognitive functions. The major objective of the research project is to examine the hypothesis that individuals suffering from Alzheimer's disease experience a marked loss in visual perception functions at an early stage of the disease. The objective will be explored through three specific aims using the tools of visual psychophysics and image analysis technology. The first aim is to collect longitudinal, normative data on contrast sensitivity for low and high spatial frequencies from individuals diagnosed with probable Alzheimer's disease, and healthy, elderly adults. It is expected that this measure of visual function will demonstrate a marked loss in Alzheimer's victims that may serve as an early marker of the disease. The second aim is to directly relate the loss of spatial frequency sensitivity to the functional perceptual problems experienced by the patients in basic visual processes such as letter identification, and pattern recognition. Finally, the efficacy of vision and/or stimulus enhancement as an intervention technique for reducing the severity of the perceptual impairment will be explored with the aid of an image engineering workstation that will be developed in the project. The wealth of information made available through this project will assist the clinician in diagnosing dementia. Furthermore, when taken in conjunction with the studies on information processing skills, these data will assist the clinician in describing the true functional capabilities of the patient in the visual processing domain.