Perceptual eye dominance in human adults quantified using binocular orientation combination

Abstract

Purpose : Our two eyes are not always equally effective in binocular processing. To precisely quantify the extent of perceptual eye dominance (also called the interocular imbalance) in binocular vision is an important issue in both clinical and basic research. To date, this has been accomplished using several different paradigms whose assessment is restricted to low spatial frequencies. There is a need to extend this investigation to higher spatial frequencies.

Methods : Seven normal adults (average age: 26.1 ± 2.3 years old; 4 females) participated. Observers’ eye dominance probability in binocular phase combination as well as orientation combination was compared at 7 interocular contrast ratios (0.2, 0.5, 0.8, 1.1, 1.4, 1.7, and 2.0) and 5 spatial frequencies (0.5, 1, 2, 4 and 8 cycles/degree) using the method of constant stimuli. All measurements were conducted on a PC computer running Matlab and an LG D2341PY 3D LED screen viewed dichoptically with polarized glasses in a dark room.

Results : With matched spatial phase-shifts at the edges of the stimuli (which rule out the potential binocular rivalry effects in the two tasks), the binocular orientation combination paradigm was shown to be more precise than that of the binocular phase combination paradigm, especially in allowing measurements to be extended to higher spatial frequencies.

Conclusions : Our results indicate that binocular orientation combination measurement could be a potentially effective tool in investigating the extent of perceptual eye dominance in human adults across the whole spatial frequency range.

This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2018 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Honolulu, Hawaii, April 29 - May 3, 2018.