Ocular dominance

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Ocular dominance, sometimes called eye preference or eyedness, [1] is the tendency to prefer visual input from one eye to the other. [2] It is somewhat analogous to the laterality of right- or left-handedness; however, the side of the dominant eye and the dominant hand do not always match. [3] This is because both hemispheres control both eyes, but each one takes charge of a different half of the field of vision, and therefore a different half of both retinas (See Optic Tract for more details). There is thus no direct analogy between "handedness" and "eyedness" as lateral phenomena. [4]

Contents

Approximately 70% of the population are right-eye dominant and 29% left-eye dominant. [1] [5] [6] [7] Dominance does appear to change depending upon direction of gaze [2] [8] due to image size changes on the retinas. [9] There also appears to be a higher prevalence of left-eye dominance in those with Williams–Beuren syndrome, [10] and possibly in migraine sufferers as well. [11] Eye dominance has been categorized as "weak" or "strong"; [12] highly profound cases are sometimes caused by amblyopia or strabismus.

In those with anisometropic myopia (different amounts of nearsightedness between the two eyes), the dominant eye has typically been found to be the one with more myopia. [13] As far as regards subjects with normal binocular vision, the widespread notion that the individual's better-sighted eye would tend to be the dominant eye has been challenged as lacking empirical basis. [14]

Dominance can change and may switch between the eyes depending on the task and physical condition of the subject (i.e. fatigue).[ citation needed ]

Effects

In normal binocular vision there is an effect of parallax, and therefore the dominant eye is the one that is primarily relied on for precise positional information. This may be extremely important in sports which require aim, such as archery, darts or shooting sports.

In a 1998 study of professional baseball players, hand–ocular dominance patterns did not show an effect on batting average or ERA. [15] Similarly, in 2005, a South African study found that "cricketers were not more likely to have crossed dominance" than the normal population. [16]

Ocular dominance is an important consideration in predicting patient satisfaction with monovision correction in cataract surgery [17] refractive surgery, also laser eye surgery, and contact lens wear.

The dominant eye has more neural connections to the brain than the other eye does. According to a sixty-person study in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B, in non-dyslexic people, the blue cone-free spot in the dominant eye tends to be round and the same spot in the non-dominant eye tends to be unevenly shaped; in dyslexic people both eyes tend to have round areas. [18] The study suggests this difference may be a potential, and possibly treatable, cause of dyslexia; however, further tests are required to confirm this. At least 700 million people worldwide have dyslexia. In response to the study, John Stein of the University of Oxford cautions that while the study is "really interesting", there is no one single cause of dyslexia. [19] [20]

Determination

A person's dominant eye "is determined by subjective alignment of two objects presented at a stereodisparity far beyond Panum's area". [21] There are a number of ways to do this:

  1. The Miles test. The observer extends both arms, brings both hands together to create a small opening, then with both eyes open views a distant object through the opening. The observer then alternates closing the eyes or slowly draws opening back to the head to determine which eye is viewing the object (i.e. the dominant eye). [22] [23] [24]
  2. The Porta test. The observer extends one arm, then with both eyes open aligns the thumb or index finger with a distant object. The observer then alternates closing the eyes or slowly draws the thumb/finger back to the head to determine which eye is viewing the object (i.e. the dominant eye). [23] [25] [26]
  3. The Dolman method, also known as the hole-in-the-card test. The subject is given a card with a small hole in the middle, instructed to hold it with both hands, then instructed to view a distant object through the hole with both eyes open. The observer then alternates closing the eyes or slowly draws the opening back to the head to determine which eye is viewing the object (i.e. the dominant eye). [27]
  4. The convergence near-point test. The subject fixates an object that is moved toward the nose until divergence of one eye occurs (i.e. the non-dominant eye). It is an objective test of ocular dominance. [27]
  5. Certain stereograms. [28]
  6. The pinhole test. [29]
  7. The ring test. [30]
  8. Lens fogging technique. The subject fixates a distant object with both eyes open and appropriate correction in place. A +2.00 or +2.50 lens is alternately introduced in front of each eye, which blurs the distant object. The subject is then asked to state in which eye is the blur more noticeable. This is the dominant eye.
  9. A dichoptic motion coherence threshold test yields a quantified indication of ocular dominance. [31]

Forced choice tests of dominance, such as the Dolman method, allow only a right or left eye result. [27]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Myopia</span> Problem with distance vision

Myopia, also known as near-sightedness and short-sightedness, is an eye disease where light from distant objects focuses in front of, instead of on, the retina. As a result, distant objects appear blurry while close objects appear normal. Other symptoms may include headaches and eye strain. Severe myopia is associated with an increased risk of macular degeneration, retinal detachment, cataracts, and glaucoma.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Esotropia</span> Form of strabismus

Esotropia is a form of strabismus in which one or both eyes turn inward. The condition can be constantly present, or occur intermittently, and can give the affected individual a "cross-eyed" appearance. It is the opposite of exotropia and usually involves more severe axis deviation than esophoria. Esotropia is sometimes erroneously called "lazy eye", which describes the condition of amblyopia; a reduction in vision of one or both eyes that is not the result of any pathology of the eye and cannot be resolved by the use of corrective lenses. Amblyopia can, however, arise as a result of esotropia occurring in childhood: In order to relieve symptoms of diplopia or double vision, the child's brain will ignore or "suppress" the image from the esotropic eye, which when allowed to continue untreated will lead to the development of amblyopia. Treatment options for esotropia include glasses to correct refractive errors, the use of prisms, orthoptic exercises, or eye muscle surgery. The term is from Greek eso meaning "inward" and trope meaning "a turning".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Binocular vision</span> Type of vision with two eyes facing the same direction

In biology, binocular vision is a type of vision in which an animal has two eyes capable of facing the same direction to perceive a single three-dimensional image of its surroundings. Binocular vision does not typically refer to vision where an animal has eyes on opposite sides of its head and shares no field of view between them, like in some animals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Farsightedness</span> Eye condition in which light is focused behind instead of on the retina

Far-sightedness, also known as long-sightedness, hypermetropia, and hyperopia, is a condition of the eye where distant objects are seen clearly but near objects appear blurred. This blur is due to incoming light being focused behind, instead of on, the retina due to insufficient accommodation by the lens. Minor hypermetropia in young patients is usually corrected by their accommodation, without any defects in vision. But, due to this accommodative effort for distant vision, people may complain of eye strain during prolonged reading. If the hypermetropia is high, there will be defective vision for both distance and near. People may also experience accommodative dysfunction, binocular dysfunction, amblyopia, and strabismus. Newborns are almost invariably hypermetropic, but it gradually decreases as the newborn gets older.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LASIK</span> Corrective ophthalmological surgery

LASIK or Lasik, commonly referred to as laser eye surgery or laser vision correction, is a type of refractive surgery for the correction of myopia, hyperopia, and an actual cure for astigmatism, since it is in the cornea. LASIK surgery is performed by an ophthalmologist who uses a laser or microkeratome to reshape the eye's cornea in order to improve visual acuity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Strabismus</span> Eyes not aligning when looking at something

Strabismus is a vision disorder in which the eyes do not properly align with each other when looking at an object. The eye that is pointed at an object can alternate. The condition may be present occasionally or constantly. If present during a large part of childhood, it may result in amblyopia, or lazy eyes, and loss of depth perception. If onset is during adulthood, it is more likely to result in double vision.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amblyopia</span> Failure of the brain to process input from one eye

Amblyopia, also called lazy eye, is a disorder of sight in which the brain fails to fully process input from one eye and over time favors the other eye. It results in decreased vision in an eye that typically appears normal in other aspects. Amblyopia is the most common cause of decreased vision in a single eye among children and younger adults.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Visual acuity</span> Clarity of vision

Visual acuity (VA) commonly refers to the clarity of vision, but technically rates an animal's ability to recognize small details with precision. Visual acuity depends on optical and neural factors. Optical factors of the eye influence the sharpness of an image on its retina. Neural factors include the health and functioning of the retina, of the neural pathways to the brain, and of the interpretative faculty of the brain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Radial keratotomy</span> Refractive surgical procedure to correct myopia (nearsightedness

Radial keratotomy (RK) is a refractive surgical procedure to correct myopia (nearsightedness). It was developed in 1974 by Svyatoslav Fyodorov, a Russian ophthalmologist. It has been largely supplanted by newer, more accurate operations, such as photorefractive keratectomy, LASIK, Epi-LASIK and the phakic intraocular lens.

Anisometropia is a condition in which a person's eyes have substantially differing refractive power. Generally, a difference in power of one diopter (1D) is the threshold for diagnosis of the condition. Patients may have up to 3D of anisometropia before the condition becomes clinically significant due to headache, eye strain, double vision or photophobia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Refractive error</span> Problem with focusing light accurately on the retina due to the shape of the eye

Refractive error is a problem with focusing light accurately on the retina due to the shape of the eye and/or cornea. The most common types of refractive error are near-sightedness, far-sightedness, astigmatism, and presbyopia. Near-sightedness results in far away objects being blurry, far-sightedness and presbyopia result in close objects being blurry, and astigmatism causes objects to appear stretched out or blurry. Other symptoms may include double vision, headaches, and eye strain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diplopia</span> Double vision

Diplopia is the simultaneous perception of two images of a single object that may be displaced horizontally or vertically in relation to each other. Also called double vision, it is a loss of visual focus under regular conditions, and is often voluntary. However, when occurring involuntarily, it results from impaired function of the extraocular muscles, where both eyes are still functional, but they cannot turn to target the desired object. Problems with these muscles may be due to mechanical problems, disorders of the neuromuscular junction, disorders of the cranial nerves that innervate the muscles, and occasionally disorders involving the supranuclear oculomotor pathways or ingestion of toxins.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eye examination</span> Series of tests assessing vision and pertaining to the eyes

An eye examination is a series of tests performed to assess vision and ability to focus on and discern objects. It also includes other tests and examinations pertaining to the eyes. Eye examinations are primarily performed by an optometrist, ophthalmologist, or an orthoptist. Health care professionals often recommend that all people should have periodic and thorough eye examinations as part of routine primary care, especially since many eye diseases are asymptomatic.

Vision therapy (VT), or behavioral optometry, is an umbrella term for alternative medicine treatments using eye exercises, based around the pseudoscientific claim that vision problems are the true underlying cause of learning difficulties, particularly in children. Vision therapy has not been shown to be effective using scientific studies, except for helping with convergence insufficiency. Most claims—for example that the therapy can address neurological, educational, and spatial difficulties—lack supporting evidence. Neither the American Academy of Pediatrics nor the American Academy of Ophthalmology support the use of vision therapy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Exotropia</span> Visual disorder where eyes work independently

Exotropia is a form of strabismus where the eyes are deviated outward. It is the opposite of esotropia and usually involves more severe axis deviation than exophoria. People with exotropia often experience crossed diplopia. Intermittent exotropia is a fairly common condition. "Sensory exotropia" occurs in the presence of poor vision in one eye. Infantile exotropia is seen during the first year of life, and is less common than "essential exotropia" which usually becomes apparent several years later.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Strabismus surgery</span> Surgery to correct strabismus

Strabismus surgery is surgery on the extraocular muscles to correct strabismus, the misalignment of the eyes. Strabismus surgery is a one-day procedure that is usually performed under general anesthesia most commonly by either a neuro- or pediatric ophthalmologist. The patient spends only a few hours in the hospital with minimal preoperative preparation. After surgery, the patient should expect soreness and redness but is generally free to return home.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emmetropia</span> State of vision

Emmetropia is the state of vision in which a faraway object at infinity is in sharp focus with the ciliary muscle in a relaxed state. That condition of the normal eye is achieved when the refractive power of the cornea and eye lens and the axial length of the eye balance out, which focuses rays exactly on the retina, resulting in perfectly sharp distance vision. A human eye in a state of emmetropia requires no corrective lenses for distance; the vision scores well on a visual acuity test.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chromostereopsis</span> Visual illusion whereby the impression of depth is conveyed in two-dimensional color images

Chromostereopsis is a visual illusion whereby the impression of depth is conveyed in two-dimensional color images, usually of red–blue or red–green colors, but can also be perceived with red–grey or blue–grey images. Such illusions have been reported for over a century and have generally been attributed to some form of chromatic aberration.

Laser blended vision is a laser eye treatment which is used to treat presbyopia or other age-related eye conditions. It can be used to help people that simply need reading glasses, and also those who have started to need bifocal or varifocal spectacle correction due to ageing changes in the eye. It can be used for people who are also short-sighted (myopia) or long-sighted (hyperopia) and who also may have astigmatism.

The eye, like any other optical system, suffers from a number of specific optical aberrations. The optical quality of the eye is limited by optical aberrations, diffraction and scatter. Correction of spherocylindrical refractive errors has been possible for nearly two centuries following Airy's development of methods to measure and correct ocular astigmatism. It has only recently become possible to measure the aberrations of the eye and with the advent of refractive surgery it might be possible to correct certain types of irregular astigmatism.

References

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  2. 1 2 Khan AZ, Crawford JD (June 2001). "Ocular dominance reverses as a function of horizontal gaze angle". Vision Research. 41 (14): 1743–8. doi: 10.1016/S0042-6989(01)00079-7 . PMID   11369037. S2CID   12186721.
  3. ↑ Porac C, Coren S (June 1975). "Is eye dominance a part of generalized laterality?". Perceptual and Motor Skills. 40 (3): 763–9. doi:10.2466/pms.1975.40.3.763. PMID   1178363. S2CID   33204029.
  4. ↑ Hagemann, N. (2009). "The advantage of being left handed in interactive sports". Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics. 71 (7): 1641–1648. doi: 10.3758/APP.71.7.1641 . PMID   19801623.
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  11. ↑ Aygül R, Dane S, Ulvi H (June 2005). "Handedness, eyedness, and crossed hand-eye dominance in male and female patients with migraine with and without aura: a pilot study". Perceptual and Motor Skills. 100 (3 Pt 2): 1137–42. doi:10.2466/pms.100.3c.1137-1142. PMID   16158700. S2CID   28551538.
  12. ↑ Handa T, Shimizu K, Mukuno K, Kawamorita T, Uozato H (August 2005). "Effects of ocular dominance on binocular summation after monocular reading adds". Journal of Cataract and Refractive Surgery. 31 (8): 1588–92. doi:10.1016/j.jcrs.2005.01.015. PMID   16129296. S2CID   41767553.
  13. ↑ Vincent SJ, Collins MJ, Read SA, Carney LG, Yap MK (December 2011). "Interocular symmetry in myopic anisometropia" (PDF). Optometry and Vision Science. 88 (12): 1454–62. doi:10.1097/OPX.0b013e318233ee5f. PMID   21964662. S2CID   20113627.
  14. ↑ Pointer JS (January 2007). "The absence of lateral congruency between sighting dominance and the eye with better visual acuity". Ophthalmic & Physiological Optics. 27 (1): 106–10. doi:10.1111/j.1475-1313.2006.00414.x. PMID   17239197. S2CID   28900363.
  15. ↑ Laby DM, Kirschen DG, Rosenbaum AL, Mellman MF (May 1998). "The effect of ocular dominance on the performance of professional baseball players". Ophthalmology. 105 (5): 864–6. doi:10.1016/S0161-6420(98)95027-8. PMID   9593388.
  16. ↑ Thomas NG, Harden LM, Rogers GG (September 2005). "Visual evoked potentials, reaction times and eye dominance in cricketers". The Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness. 45 (3): 428–33. PMID   16230997.
  17. ↑ Handa T, Mukuno K, Uozato H, Niida T, Shoji N, Minei R, Nitta M, Shimizu K (April 2004). "Ocular dominance and patient satisfaction after monovision induced by intraocular lens implantation". Journal of Cataract and Refractive Surgery. 30 (4): 769–74. doi:10.1016/j.jcrs.2003.07.013. PMID   15093637. S2CID   39690729.
  18. ↑ Le Floch A, Ropars G (October 2017). "Left-right asymmetry of the Maxwell spot centroids in adults without and with dyslexia". Proceedings. Biological Sciences. 284 (1865): 20171380. doi:10.1098/rspb.2017.1380. PMC   5666095 . PMID   29046375.
  19. ↑ Agence France-Presse (18 October 2017). "Dyslexia: scientists claim cause of condition may lie in the eyes". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 October 2017.
  20. ↑ "Dyslexia eye link spotted by scientists". BBC News. 18 October 2017. Retrieved 21 October 2017.
  21. ↑ Kromeier M, Heinrich SP, Bach M, Kommerell G (January 2006). "Ocular prevalence and stereoacuity". Ophthalmic & Physiological Optics. 26 (1): 50–6. CiteSeerX   10.1.1.570.3941 . doi:10.1111/j.1475-1313.2005.00344.x. PMID   16390482. S2CID   7515192.
  22. ↑ "Shooting Eye Dominance for Bows & Guns". www.huntersfriend.com. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
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  24. ↑ "Determining your Dominant Eye". Pat Norris Archery. Archived from the original on 19 February 2015.
  25. ↑ "Right or left eye dominant? . . . . . how to check". Archived from the original on 10 December 2001.
  26. ↑ "Eye Dominance Test". SportVue. Archived from the original on 15 February 2008.
  27. 1 2 3 Cheng CY, Yen MY, Lin HY, Hsia WW, Hsu WM (August 2004). "Association of ocular dominance and anisometropic myopia". Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science. 45 (8): 2856–60. doi:10.1167/iovs.03-0878. PMID   15277513.
  28. ↑ "Stereogram test for right/left eye dominance". Archived from the original on 22 May 2008.
  29. ↑ Berens C, Zerbe J (July 1953). "A new pinhole test and eye-dominance tester". American Journal of Ophthalmology. 36 (7 1): 980–1. doi:10.1016/0002-9394(53)92183-7. PMID   13065383.
  30. ↑ Safra D (July 1989). "[The "Ring Test" for evaluating eye dominance]". Klinische Monatsblätter für Augenheilkunde (in German). 195 (1): 35–6. doi:10.1055/s-2008-1046410. PMID   2796230.
  31. ↑ Li J, Lam CS, Yu M, Hess RF, Chan LY, Maehara G, Woo GC, Thompson B (December 2010). "Quantifying sensory eye dominance in the normal visual system: a new technique and insights into variation across traditional tests". Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science. 51 (12): 6875–81. doi:10.1167/iovs.10-5549. PMID   20610837.
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