Peripheral Visual Function of Children with Low Vision

描述（由申请人提供）：低视力儿童的视野完整性可能受损，需要补偿策略来获取和整合视野中心和周边区域的视觉信息。对低视力儿童的观察表明，他们通常对与方向和移动性相关的外围信息没有反应，即使标准的视觉评估表明这种刺激模式应该是可见的。目前可用的视觉评估不评估运动敏感性，注意力和模式识别在周边领域;知识仍然是有限的各种类型的视觉障碍的影响的过程和机制，整合有关运动和空间模式的信息在全景视野的几个关键差距，本项目的动机。而对于整合中央和周边区域变化的空间信息的视觉技能的发育可塑性，我们知之甚少。 为了解决这些问题，本研究的目的是（a）开发一种方法，用于测试周边视觉功能描述的光敏性以外，（B）确定是否存在差异，周边视觉功能之间存在差异，儿童和非低视力和那些与不同的低视力病因，（c）确定周边视觉技能是否可以通过训练得到改善。 本研究应有助于（a）了解正常和低视力人群中视觉功能的几种基本机制，（B）评估低视力儿童视觉功能的工具，以及（c）改善低视力儿童视觉功能的训练策略，特别是与使用周边视觉进行移动和空间定向相关的训练策略。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The integrity of the visual field may be impaired in children with low vision, demanding compensatory strategies for acquiring and integrating visual information over central and peripheral regions of the field. Observations of children with low vision suggest that often they are unresponsive to peripheral information relevant to orientation and mobility, even though standard visual assessments indicate that such stimulus patterns should be visible. The present project is motivated by several key gaps in currently available knowledge relevant to this problem: Currently available visual assessments do not evaluate motion sensitivity, attention, and pattern recognition in the peripheral field; knowledge is still limited about the impact of various types of visual impairments on the processes and mechanisms for integrating information about motion and spatial patterns over the panoramic visual field; and too little is known about the developmental plasticity of visual skills for integrating changing spatial information over the central and peripheral fields. To address these problems, the present study is designed to (a) develop a method for testing peripheral visual functions beyond those describing photosensitivity, (b) determine whether differences in peripheral visual function exist among children with and without low vision and those with different low vision etiologies, and (c) determine whether peripheral visual skills can be improved by training. This study should contribute (a) knowledge about several basic mechanisms of visual function in both normal and low vision populations, (b) tools for assessing visual function in children with low vision, and (c) training strategies for improving visual functioning of children with low vision, especially as related to the use of peripheral vision for mobility and spatial orientation.