Frontiers in Psychology (Dec 2014)

Improving visual functions in adult amblyopia with combined perceptual training and transcranial random noise stimulation (tRNS)

  • Gianluca eCampana,
  • Gianluca eCampana,
  • Rebecca eCamilleri,
  • Andrea ePavan,
  • Antonella eVeronese,
  • Giuseppe eLo Giudice

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.01402
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 5

Abstract

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Amblyopia is a visual disorder due to an abnormal pattern of functional connectivity of the visual cortex and characterized by several visual deficits of spatial vision including impairments of visual acuity (VA) and of the contrast sensitivity function (CSF). Despite being a developmental disorder caused by reduced visual stimulation during early life (critical period), several studies have shown that extensive visual perceptual training can improve VA and CSF in people with amblyopia even in adulthood. With the present study we assessed whether a much shorter perceptual training regime, in association with high-frequency transcranial electrical stimulation (hf-tRNS), was able to improve visual functions in a group of adult participants with amblyopia. Results show that, in comparison with previous studies where a large number sessions with a similar training regime were used (Polat, Ma-Naim, Belkin & Sagi, 2004), here just eight sessions of training in contrast detection under lateral masking conditions combined with hf-tRNS, were able to substantially improve VA and CSF in adults with amblyopia.

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