Continuous recording of accommodation and pupil size using the Shin-Nippon SRW-5000 autorefractor

A newly released commercial autorefractor, the Shin-Nippon SRW-5000 (Japan), has been found to be valid compared to subjective refraction and repeatable over a wide prescription range. Its binocular open field-of-view allows the accommodative state to be monitored while a natural environment is viewed. In conventional static mode, the device can take up to 45 readings in 1min using digital image analysis of the reflected retinal image of a measurement ring. Continuous on-line analysis of the ring provides high (up to 60Hz) temporal resolution of the refractive state to an accuracy of <0.001D. Pupil size can also be analysed to a resolution of <0.001mm. The measurement of accommodation and pupil size was relatively unaffected by eccentricity of viewing up to ±10° and instrument focusing inaccuracies of ±5mm. The resolution properties of the analysis are shown to be ideal for measurement of dynamic accommodation and pupil responses. Copyright © 2001 The College of Optometrists.

Adults with dyslexia can use cues to orient and constrain attention but have a smaller and weaker attention spotlight

We report results from two experiments assessing distribution of attention and cue use in adults with dyslexia (AwD) and in a group of typically reading controls. Experiment 1 showed normal effects of cueing in AwD, with faster responses when probes were presented within a cued area and normal effects of eccentricity and stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA). In addition, AwD showed stronger benefits of a longer SOA when they had to move attention farther, and stronger effects of inclusion on the left, suggesting that cueing is particularly important in more difficult conditions. Experiment 2 tested the use of cues in a texture detection task involving a wider range of eccentricities and a shorter SOA. In this paradigm, focused attention at the central location is actually detrimental and cueing further reduces performance. Thus, if AwD have a more distributed attention, they should show a reduced performance drop at central locations and, if they do not use cues, they should show less negative effects of cueing. In contrast, AwD showed a larger drop and a positive effect of cueing. These results are better accounted for by a smaller and weaker spotlight of attention. Performance does not decrease at central locations because the attentional spotlight is already deployed with maximum intensity, which cannot be further enhanced at central locations. Instead, use of cueing helps to focus limited resources. Cues orient attention to the right area without enhancing it to the point where this is detrimental for texture detection. Implications for reading are discussed.

A template model predicts detection of sparse stimul

Contemporary models of contrast integration across space assume that pooling operates uniformly over the target region. For sparse stimuli, where high contrast regions are separated by areas containing no signal, this strategy may be sub-optimal because it pools more noise than signal as area increases. Little is known about the behaviour of human observers for detecting such stimuli. We performed an experiment in which three observers detected regular textures of various areas, and six levels of sparseness. Stimuli were regular grids of horizontal grating micropatches, each 1 cycle wide. We varied the ratio of signals (marks) to gaps (spaces), with mark:space ratios ranging from 1 : 0 (a dense texture with no spaces) to 1 : 24. To compensate for the decline in sensitivity with increasing distance from fixation, we adjusted the stimulus contrast as a function of eccentricity based on previous measurements [Baldwin, Meese & Baker, 2012, J Vis, 12(11):23]. We used the resulting area summation functions and psychometric slopes to test several filter-based models of signal combination. A MAX model failed to predict the thresholds, but did a good job on the slopes. Blanket summation of stimulus energy improved the threshold fit, but did not predict an observed slope increase with mark:space ratio. Our best model used a template matched to the sparseness of the stimulus, and pooled the squared contrast signal over space. Templates for regular patterns have also recently been proposed to explain the regular appearance of slightly irregular textures (Morgan et al, 2012, Proc R Soc B, 279, 2754–2760)

Pupillary shapes in response to electrical stimulation of the sclera of peripheral cornea in cats and porcines

Purpose: We have reported that the changes in the pupillary shape in response to electrical stimulation of the branches of the ciliary nerves in cats. (Miyagawa et al. PLoS One, 2014). This study investigates the changes in the pupillary shapes in response to electrical stimulations of the sclera of peripheral cornea in cats and porcines. Methods: Two enucleated eyes of two cats and three enucleated porcine eyes were studied. Trains of biphasic pulses (current, 3 mA; duration, 2 ms/phase; frequency, 40 Hz) were applied using a tungsten electrode (0.3mm diameter). The stimulation was performed at every 45 degree over the entire circular region on the sclera near the cornea. The pupillary images were recorded before and 4 s (cat) and 10 s (pig) after the stimulation and the change in the pupil diameter (Δr) was quantified. The pupillary images were obtained with a custom-built compact wavefront aberrometer (Uday et al. J Cataract Refract Surg, 2013). Results: In a cat eye, the pupil was dilated by the electrical stimulation at six out of eight orientations (before stimulation pupil diameter r=10.10±0.49 mm, Δr=0.33±0.12 mm). The pupil dilated only toward the electrode (relative eccentricity of the pupil center to the pupil diameter change amount rdec=1.15±0.28). In the porcine eyes, the pupils were constricted by the electrical stimulations at the temporal and nasal orientations (r=10.04±0.57 mm, Δr=1.52±0.70 mm). The pupils contracted symmetrically (rdec=0.30±0.12). Conclusions: With electrical stimulation in the sclera of the peripheral cornea, asymmetric mydriasis in cat eyes and symmetrical miosis in porcine eyes were observed. Under the assumption that the electrical stimulation stimulated both muscles that contribute to the pupil control, our hypothesis proposed here is that the pupil dilator is stronger than the pupil sphincter in cat, and pupil sphincter is stronger than pupil dilator in porcine.