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. 1998 Sep;82(9):991–995. doi: 10.1136/bjo.82.9.991

Movement hyperacuity in childhood amblyopia

S Kelly 1, T Buckingham 1
PMCID: PMC1722760  PMID: 9893586

Abstract

BACKGROUND—Amblyopia results in deficits in a number of visual functions in both the amblyopic and dominant eye. The present work describes oscillatory movement displacement thresholds (OMDT) in childhood amblyopia.
METHODS—The OMDT from the dominant and amblyopic eyes of 50 orthoptic patients (aged 74 (SD 16) months) were compared with those from a group of 24 controls (79 (21) months). OMDT were measured using a forced choice staircase procedure. Subjects were asked to identify which of the computer controlled monitors displayed the oscillating stimulus. Visual acuity and stereoscopic responses were noted from clinical records.
RESULTS—Amblyopic children demonstrating stereopsis showed no significant OMDT deficit in the amblyopic eye. Those children having no stereopsis had elevated OMDT in the amblyopic eye (p<0.05). Results suggest that the dominant eye of children with amblyopia may also have a pattern of visual development which is anomalous (difference in correlation coefficient with age; p <0.05).
CONCLUSION—OMDT deficits demonstrated in some amblyopic eyes indicate that amblyopia is incompletely described by its "clinical" definition. Results suggest that the dominant eye in those with unilateral amblyopia may not be "normal".

 Keywords: amblyopia; children; vision; movement hyperacuity; stereopsis

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Figure 1  .

Figure 1  

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Mean log oscillatory movement displacement threshold (OMDT) in dominant and amblyopic eyes in stereopositive and stereonegative children compared with normal controls.

Figure 2  .

Figure 2  

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Log oscillatory movement displacement threshold (OMDT) shown as a function of age for amblyopic (∘, dominant (▴) and normal control eyes(•). Best fit lines are drawn for normal control (solid line) and amblyopic (dotted line) eyes, which show significant correlation with age. There is no significant correlation between OMDT and age in dominant eyes, although an indication of the best fit line is given (broken line).

Selected References

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