Perceptual learning improves visual functions in patients with albinistic bilateral amblyopia: A pilot study.

Background: Several visual functions are impaired in patients with oculocutaneous albinism (OCA) associated to albinistic bilateral amblyopia (ABA).

Objective: In this study, we aimed at exploring whether perceptual learning (PL) can improve visual functions in albinism.

Method: Six patients and six normal sighted controls, were trained in a contrast detection task with lateral masking.

Dyslexia and the magnocellular-parvocellular coactivaton hypothesis.

Previous studies showed that the lateral masking of a fast-moving low spatial frequency (SF) target was strong when exerted by static flankers of lower or equal to the target SF and absent when flankers' SF was higher than the target's one. These masking and unmasking effects have been interpreted as due to Magnocellular-Magnocellular (M-M) inhibition and Parvocellular-on-Magnocellular (P-M) disinhibitory coactivation, respectively. Based on the hypothesis that the balance between the two systems is perturbed in Developmental Dyslexia (DD), we asked whether dyslexic children (DDs) behaved differently than Typically Developing children (TDs) in conditions of lateral masking.

Testing the visual field of children and adults with Rarebit: The role of task repetition on sensitivity.

Rarebit is a simple and user-friendly perimetry that tests the visual field by using tiny supra-threshold dot stimuli. It appears to be especially useful for examining the visual field of children who are under 12 years of age. However, previous data showed that the number of errors was higher in children than adults.

Developmental dyslexia: A deficit in magnocellular-parvocellular co-activation, not simply in pure magnocellular activation.

The magnocellular deficit theory of dyslexia suggests a selective impairment in contrast detection of stimuli involving pure magnocellular response (e.g. Gabor patches of 0.