[Editorial] Neural bases of binocular vision and coordination and their implications in visual training programs

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To see or not to see? That is the question of this research topic. How do human beings see not with their eyes but with their brain, which lies in a moving body, itself evolving in a continuously changing environment? What and how do humans see in the context of a particular task at a given moment? How do humans cease to see after some damage in the brain or neurofunctional disorder? And how may the basic science of eye movements and vision help to develop efficient visual training programs?

The present research topic, entitled Neural bases of binocular vision and coordination and their implications in visual training programs, aims at putting forward our knowledge of the neural underpinnings of vision in its motor, sensory, cognitive, emotional and vegetative expressions. It does not target an exhaustive collection of what we know in the field of visual neurosciences. For that purpose, the reader may refer to the volume sets by Chalupa and Werner (2003). Rather, this research topic focuses on the latest findings on the neural aspects of eye movements and visual perception that directly help to understand and improve visual training programs in pathological conditions. Such disorders follow damages of the cerebral visual pathways (e.g., hemianopia) or refer to syndromes hitherto believed to be peripheral but in which neurophysiology and brain imaging are uncovering neural correlates or causes (e.g., amblyopia).

The research topic is divided into three parts respectively dedicated to eye movements, visual perception, and visual training programs, each having six chapters, and starts with an overview. In the introductory chapter, Coubard, Urbanski, Bourlon and Gaumet (2014) remind the reader of the importance of action in visual processing before describing the cascade of physiological mechanisms underlying eye movements, followed by a description of the five main neurovisual systems. After an overview of pathological conditions causing not eye but brain blindness – also called neurovisual disorders – the authors end by describing the disciplines of visual rehabilitation.

Continue —>  Frontiers | Editorial: Neural bases of binocular vision and coordination and their implications in visual training programs | Frontiers in Integrative Neuroscience.

[WEB SITE] Vision Care for the Brain-Injured Patient

Over the past decade, several factors have resulted in an increasing demand for optometrists trained in brain injury vision rehabilitation (BIVR). To start, there have been a significant number of brain-injured soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. Other factors include continually improving trauma survival rates due to medical advances, increased awareness of sports-related concussions and the increased incidence of cerebrovascular accidents (CVA) in the aging Baby Boomer population.1

Vision problems are common after brain injury, and recently published research supports the effectiveness of rehabilitative devices and therapy.2-9 As a result, it has become more important for rehabilitation facilities to seek and privilege optometrists trained in BIVR. In addition, ODs in general practice are increasingly likely to encounter patients with an acquired brain injury (ABI), such as a concussion, and asked to provide expert opinion concerning its impact on visual function.

As caring providers, we want to have the knowledge to offer our patients the newest and most effective treatments available for their visual dysfunction. I will discuss inpatient vs. outpatient delivery of care, diagnoses, assessment and treatment for the ABI patient. Currently there is no consensus on the best model for BIVR care, and there is no evidence to support one method over another.

The model described below is one that I developed for my inpatient clinics and was influenced by my early career in private-practice vision therapy, experience in an inner-city academic low vision rehab clinic, hospital-based experi ence with the medical model of rehabilitation and interaction with other optometrists working with the inpatient population.

Continue —>  Review of Optometry® > Continuing Education > Vision Care for the Brain-Injured Patient by Kevin E. Houston OD.