The Effect of Unilateral Mean Luminance on Binocular Combination in normal and amblyopic vision

Luminance plays a modulating role in the processes of several visual tasks, which in turn provides significant information for the understanding of visual processing. Here, using a binocular phase combination paradigm, we studied the effect of unilateral changes in mean luminance on binocular combination in both normal and amblyopic vision. We found, in normal observers, attenuation of one eye's stimulus luminance with neutral density filters produces binocular phase combination similar to those of amblyopic subjects. Correspondingly, in amblyopic observers, reduction of the fellow eye's stimulus luminance produces binocular phase combination similar to those of normal subjects. These phenomena could be explained by an attenuated contribution of the filtered eye to the binocular phase percept due to reduced gain-control. The findings have major implications both for the study of binocular combination and for amblyopia treatment

The effects of monocular training on binocular functions in anisometropic amblyopia

Intensive monocular perceptual learning can improve visual acuity, contrast sensitivity, and vernier acuity in the amblyopic eye in adults with amblyopia. It is however not clear how much monocular training can enhance binocular visual functions. In the current study, we aimed to evaluate effects of monocular training on a variety of binocular functions. Nineteen anisometropic amblyopes (18.5 +/- 1.26 yrs, mean +/- s.e.) were trained in a grating contrast detection task near each individual's cutoff spatial frequency for 6-10 days (630 trials/day). Visual acuity, stereoacuity, monocular and binocular contrast sensitivity functions (CSF), binocular phase combination and binocular rivalry were tested before and after training. Although monocular training can improve visual acuity and contrast sensitivity and eye dominance of the amblyopic eye, the magnitudes of improvements did not correlate with each other; the impact of monocular training on binocular phase combination was not significant. The results strongly suggest that structured monocular and binocular training is needed to fully recover deficient visual functions in anisometropic amblyopia. (C) 2017 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd

Secular Trends of the Impact of Overweight and Obesity on Hypertension in Yi People: Yi Migrant Study, 1996–2015

Background. Rising hypertension prevalence, coupled with increasing overweight and obesity rates, has been observed in Yi people. Moreover, the growing blood pressure level among Yi people was mostly attributable to the continuous increase of body mass index (BMI). However, little is known about the trend of association between them. Methods. Consequently, we investigated the impact of overweight/obesity on hypertension over three periods (1996, 2007-2008, 2015) using data from Yi Migrant Study (n = 8749). The Yi Migrant Study incorporated three successive cross-sectional studies which were implemented by the same team with consistent protocols. Results. Compared with period 1 (1996), the influence of overweight/obesity on hypertension risk significantly increased in period 2 (2007-2008) and period 3 (2015); relative excess risk due to interaction (RERI) was 1.59 (95% CI: 0.12, 3.05) and 1.41 (95% CI: 0.30, 2.78), respectively. Meanwhile, the overweight/obese population in period 3 did not show hypertension risk higher than that in period 2 (RERI = 0.15; 95% CI: −0.76, 1.07). Additionally, we observed a continuously growing trend of hypertension risk among normal weight Yi people. Conclusions. During the past two decades, there was a significant increase in the association between overweight/obesity and hypertension in Yi people, whereas the increasing trend has leveled off in more recent years. These findings suggest that overweight/obesity and hypertension are becoming more epidemic comorbidity over time. Interventions to prevent hypertension should focus not only on the overweight/obese population, but also on those with normal weight

The Effect of Unilateral Mean Luminance on Binocular Combination in normal and amblyopic vision

Luminance plays a modulating role in the processes of several visual tasks, which in turn provides significant information for the understanding of visual processing. Here, using a binocular phase combination paradigm, we studied the effect of unilateral changes in mean luminance on binocular combination in both normal and amblyopic vision. We found, in normal observers, attenuation of one eye's stimulus luminance with neutral density filters produces binocular phase combination similar to those of amblyopic subjects. Correspondingly, in amblyopic observers, reduction of the fellow eye's stimulus luminance produces binocular phase combination similar to those of normal subjects. These phenomena could be explained by an attenuated contribution of the filtered eye to the binocular phase percept due to reduced gain-control. The findings have major implications both for the study of binocular combination and for amblyopia treatment