October 2020
Volume 20, Issue 11
Open Access
Vision Sciences Society Annual Meeting Abstract  |   October 2020
Spatial recalibration in cataract-treated individuals
Author Affiliations & Notes
  • Irene Senna
    Dep. Appl. Cognitive Psychology, Faculty for Computer Science, Engineering, and Psychology, Ulm University, Germany
  • Sophia Pfister
    Dep. Appl. Cognitive Psychology, Faculty for Computer Science, Engineering, and Psychology, Ulm University, Germany
  • Chiara Martolini
    Unit for Visually Impaired People (U-VIP), Italian Institute of Technology (IIT), Genova, Italy
  • Monica Gori
    Unit for Visually Impaired People (U-VIP), Italian Institute of Technology (IIT), Genova, Italy
  • Elena Cocchi
    Istituto David Chiossone, Genova, Italy
  • Marc O. Ernst
    Dep. Appl. Cognitive Psychology, Faculty for Computer Science, Engineering, and Psychology, Ulm University, Germany
  • Footnotes
    Acknowledgements  This work was supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) DIP-Grant ER 542/3-1
Journal of Vision October 2020, Vol.20, 1011. doi:https://doi.org/10.1167/jov.20.11.1011
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      Irene Senna, Sophia Pfister, Chiara Martolini, Monica Gori, Elena Cocchi, Marc O. Ernst; Spatial recalibration in cataract-treated individuals. Journal of Vision 2020;20(11):1011. https://doi.org/10.1167/jov.20.11.1011.

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      © ARVO (1962-2015); The Authors (2016-present)

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Abstract

Since vision typically provides more precise spatial information than other sensory modalities, early visual deprivation usually results in impaired spatial cognition and mobility. Here we tested Ethiopian children who suffered from congenital dense bilateral cataract and were surgically treated only years after birth. In Experiment 1, we assessed whether these individuals could spontaneously develop an appropriate representation of space once the cataract is removed. We tested patients’ representation of the extrapersonal, peripersonal, and personal space. In particular we tested their ability 1) to localise visual and auditory stimuli, 2) to understand spatial relationships among sounds (by spatially bisecting three consecutive sounds), and 3) to point straight ahead along their mid-sagittal plane. After surgery, we observed enhanced spatial skills in all three tasks. Such improvement appeared mediated by time-since-surgery and post-surgical visual acuity. However, despite the improvement, cataract-treated children did not reach the level of sighted age-matched controls even few years after surgery. In Experiment 2, we investigated whether targeted audio-visuomotor training could boost such spontaneous recovery. Participants performed entertaining motor activities with the “Audio Bracelet for Blind Interaction” (ABBI), a device that associates audio-visual feedback to participants’ body movements. Before and after the training, we retested participants with the same conditions from Experiment 1, and additionally in some tasks investigating their ability to navigate in the surrounding environment and to reach and grasp objects. After a short training (1-2 weeks), children dramatically improved in most tested spatial skills and in their mobility, even achieving the level of sighted controls in some tasks. The present findings show that, despite years of visual impairment, cataract-treated individuals can develop a more appropriate representation of multisensory space after surgery. Such improvement can be considerably enhanced employing a targeted training strengthening the association between a movement and its sensory counterpart.

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