Flaum Eye Institute, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, United States; Center for Visual Science, University of Rochester, Rochester, United States
Brain and Cognitive Sciences, University of Rochester, Rochester, United States; Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, United States
Flaum Eye Institute, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, United States; Center for Visual Science, University of Rochester, Rochester, United States
Brain and Cognitive Sciences, University of Rochester, Rochester, United States; Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China; Institute of Psychology and Behavioral Science, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
Flaum Eye Institute, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, United States; Center for Visual Science, University of Rochester, Rochester, United States; Brain and Cognitive Sciences, University of Rochester, Rochester, United States; Department of Neuroscience, University of Rochester, Rochester, United States
Flaum Eye Institute, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, United States; Center for Visual Science, University of Rochester, Rochester, United States; Brain and Cognitive Sciences, University of Rochester, Rochester, United States; Department of Neuroscience, University of Rochester, Rochester, United States
Flaum Eye Institute, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, United States; Center for Visual Science, University of Rochester, Rochester, United States
The eye’s optics are a major determinant of visual perception. Elucidating how long-term exposure to optical defects affects visual processing is key to understanding the capacity for, and limits of, sensory plasticity. Here, we show evidence of functional reallocation of sensory processing resources following long-term exposure to poor optical quality. Using adaptive optics to bypass all optical defects, we assessed visual processing in neurotypically-developed adults with healthy eyes and with keratoconus – a corneal disease causing severe optical aberrations. Under fully-corrected optical conditions, keratoconus patients showed altered contrast sensitivity, with impaired sensitivity for fine spatial details and better-than-typical sensitivity for coarse spatial details. Both gains and losses in sensitivity were more pronounced in patients experiencing poorer optical quality in their daily life and mediated by changes in signal enhancement mechanisms. These findings show that adult neural processing adapts to better match the changes in sensory inputs caused by long-term exposure to altered optics.