Improving Binocular Vision Through Perceptual Learning

描述（申请人提供）：双目视觉赋予我们在许多任务中优越的感知能力，包括精细深度检测（立体视觉），图形/地面分割，空间感知和视觉引导动作。拥有良好的双目视觉有利于运动员（如篮球和排球）和职业需要敏锐深度感知的专业人士（如外科医生、牙医、机械师和飞行员）。双眼视力不佳的一个常见原因是过度的感觉眼优势，这种情况在一些临床视力正常的人和弱视患者中发现。感觉眼优势可能是由于抑制或整合的眼间不平衡，或两者兼而有之。该翻译建议采用一种新颖的推拉感知学习协议，以减少由于眼间抑制不平衡而导致的感觉眼优势，并改善成人的立体视觉。这种方法基于这样一种假设，即当知觉学习效应针对假定的抑制网络，以恢复两只眼睛之间兴奋性和抑制性相互作用的平衡时，对感觉眼优势的影响更有效。推-拉协议的工作原理是迫使弱视的眼睛感知到它的刺激（推），同时抑制强眼的刺激（拉）。该协议与仅推协议形成对比，该协议仅刺激弱眼（推），而不刺激强眼。推拉方案，而不是推只方案，结果显著降低感官眼优势和改善立体视觉在非弱视和弱视。这项建议有三个具体目标。Aim 1在更大范围的弱视受试者（异质组）上实施了由于眼间抑制不平衡的推拉方案。结果将提供一个更广泛的知识，如何弱视反应知觉学习协议。目标2在非弱视上实现了推拉协议，并通过利用和探索与注意力、对比度增益控制、信道带宽等相关的基本潜在机制，提高了推拉协议的效用和效力。目的3研究眼间整合失衡，利用对比度增益控制的多通道模型识别其潜在缺陷，并结合眼间抑制的知识来开发一种联合方案来减少感觉眼优势。从目标2和目标3中吸取的经验教训将适用于目标1，反之亦然。本研究的结果侧重于恢复兴奋性和抑制性相互作用的眼间平衡，将改善视力正常但需要更精细深度感知能力的人以及弱视患者的双眼视力。长期目标是将所获得的知识应用于治疗双眼视力障碍，包括弱视的临床应用。后者影响2-3%的人口，如果不及时治疗，可能导致不利的个人和社会后果。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Binocular vision endows us with superior perceptual abilities in numerous tasks including those involving fine depth detection (stereopsis), figure/ground segmentation, space perception and visually guided actions. Having good binocular vision benefits athletes in their sports (e.g., basketball and volleyball) and professionals whose vocations demand acute depth perception (e.g., surgeons, dentists, machinists, and pilots). A common cause of poor binocular vision is excessive sensory eye dominance, a condition that is found in some people with clinically normal vision and in people with lazy eye (amblyopia). Sensory eye dominance could be due to an interocular imbalance of inhibition or integration, or both. This translational proposal employs a novel push-pull perceptual learning protocol to reduce sensory eye dominance due to interocular imbalance of inhibition and to improve stereopsis in adults. This approach rests on the hypothesis that the perceptual learning effect on sensory eye dominance is more effective when it targets the putative inhibitory network to restore the balance of excitatory and inhibitory interactions between the two eyes. The push-pull protocol works by forcing the weak eye to perceive its stimulus (push) as it simultaneously suppresses the strong eye's stimulus from being perceived (pull). This protocol is contrasted with a push-only protocol that solely stimulates the weak eye (push) while the strong eye is not stimulated. The push-pull protocol, and not the push-only protocol, results in significantly reduced sensory eye dominance and improved stereopsis in non-amblyopes and amblyopes. This proposal has three specific aims. Aim 1 implements the push-pull protocol due to interocular imbalance of inhibition on a larger spectrum of amblyopic subjects (a heterogeneous group). The outcomes will provide a broader knowledge of how amblyopes respond to the perceptual learning protocol. Aim 2 implements the push-pull protocol on non-amblyopes and improves on the utility and potency of the push-pull protocol by capitalizing on, and exploring, the basic underlying mechanisms related to attention, contrast gain control, channel bandwidths, etc. Aim 3 investigates interocular imbalance of integration, identifies its underlying deficits using the multi-channel model of contrast gain control and incorporates the knowledge of interocular inhibition to develop a combined protocol to reduce sensory eye dominance. Reflecting the nature of this translational proposal, lessons learned from Aims 2 and 3 will be applied to Aim 1 and vice versa. The outcomes of this proposal, which focuses on restoring the interocular balance of excitatory and inhibitory interactions, will lead to improved binocular vision in people with normal vision who desire finer depth perception ability and in people with amblyopia. The long-term goal is to apply the knowledge gained into clinical application for the treatment of binocular visual disorders, including amblyopia. The lattr affects 2-3% of the population and if left untreated could lead to adverse personal and societal consequences.