Effectiveness of Psychophysical Visual Stimuli-Based Interventions in Amblyopia Treatment: A Systematic Review
Abstract
Introduction: Active vision therapy, integrating perceptual learning with dichoptic or binocular environments, has shown potential effectiveness in treating amblyopia. However, uncertainties linger regarding the optimal types of stimuli and the best approaches and sequences for their presentation. This systematic review evaluates the effectiveness of psychophysical visual stimuli-based interventions, particularly perceptual learning and dichoptic training, in treating amblyopia.
Materials and Methods: A comprehensive literature search across major databases, such as PubMed and Google Scholar, yielded 26 studies involving 993 amblyopic patients. These studies investigated various visual training methods, including perceptual learning, dichoptic stimulation, and combinations of both, with stimuli such as Gabor patches, letter optotypes, Vernier stimuli, and random-dot stereograms.
Results: The findings indicate that perceptual learning enhances visual acuity, contrast sensitivity, and stereopsis, even in adult patients, by leveraging neural plasticity. Dichoptic training, which engages both eyes simultaneously, shows promise in reducing suppression and improving binocular integration, providing a potential advantage over traditional patching therapy. Gabor patches emerged as particularly effective, stimulating the visual cortex to drive neural efficiency.
Conclusion: Vision therapy can be an effective strategy for treating amblyopia and potentially reduce the overall treatment time when used alongside patching. In addition, it is imperative to modify the stimuli to align with the distinct characteristics of the patient during both monocular and binocular training.
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Issue | Articles in Press | |
Section | Review Article(s) | |
Keywords | ||
Amblyopia; Orthoptics; Psychophysics; Systematic review |
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