Table 1.
Summary of recent visual training studies in patients with central vision loss.
| Study | Subjects | Pathology | Age | Type of training | Length of training | Improvement in the trained task | Improvement in untrained tasks (transfer of learning) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chung (2011) | 6 | 4 AMD, 2 Stargardt | 57–82 | Reading speed (RSVP) | 6 sessions | +53% | No |
| Seiple et al. (2011) | 30 | Dry AMD | 54–89 | Experiment 1: Ecc. viewing; Experiment 2: Eye movements; Experiment 3: Reading |
6 sessions (36 h) | Not reported | Reading speed: Experiment 1: −8.4 wpm Experiment 2: +27.3 wpm Experiment 3: +9.8 wpm |
| Coco-Martín et al. (2013) | 41 | Bilateral AMD | 63–90 | Reading Rehabilitation Program (RRP) | 4 in-office sessions, 6 weeks home training | Not evaluable |
a. Reading speed: +48.31 wpm b. Reading duration: +35 min c. Font size: +4.08 font points |
| Rosengarth et al. (2013) | 9 | AMD | 55–81 | Oculomotor training | 12 sessions, 6 months | Not evaluable |
a. Fixation stability: +30% b. Reading speed: +10 wpm |
| Tarita-Nistor et al. (2014) | 10 | Bilateral AMD | 34–87 | Reading speed (RSVP) | 4 sessions | +54% |
a. VA: +0.1 logMAR b. Fixation stability: +62% c. Reading speed: +53% |
| Plank et al. (2014) | 13 | 8 AMD, 2 JMD, 3 CRD | 47–79 | Texture discrimination | 6 sessions, 3 weeks | +55% | Vernier acuity: +33% |
| Astle et al. (2015) | 5 | 4 dry AMD, 1 wet AMD | 67–81 | Word identification task | Up to 14 sessions, 30 min per session | +61% | No |
| Maniglia et al. (2016), Experiment 1 | 3 | 1 Stargartd, 1 AMD, 1 JMD | 32–64 | Contrast detection, PRL and Non-PRL | 24 session, 8 weeks | +67%PRL, 38% Non-PRL |
a. VA: 0.19 logMAR (PRL), 0.16 logMAR (Non-PRL) b. CSF: +25.8% |
| Maniglia et al. (2016), Experiment 2 | 4 | 1 CRSC, 1 macular hole, 1 CRD, 1 Best disease | 49–62 | Contrast detection, PRL only | 19–27 sessions, 6–8 weeks | +159% |
a. VA: +0.29 logMAR 6 months follow up: +0.15 logMAR, b. CSF +213% follow up: MD5: +62.8%, MD7: +325.7% b. Crowding: +40% follow up: +32% |
Abbreviations: AMD, Age-related macular degeneration; JMD, Juvenile macular degeneration; CRD, Cone-rod dystrophy; CRSC, Central serous chorioretinopathy; PRL, Preferrer retinal locus; Non-PRL, a symmetrical retinal locus respect to the PRL; RSVP, Rapid serial visual presentation; wpm, word per minute, CSF, Contrast sensitivity function; VA, Visual acuity, logMAR, log of the Minimum Angle of Resolution (standard measure of VA). “+” Indicates improvement in the performance, “−” Indicates worsening.