NSUCO - The Visionary Spring 2012

THE V ISIONARY • S PRING 2012 — 19 therapy, as well as physiatry, social work, pediatric med- icine, and special education, to name but a few. There is literally something of interest for all in this book. Since vision is the dominant sense involved in practically every task, it is important for all professionals to under- stand how various anomalies of vision affect their pa- tients’ interaction with the environment. These frequently encountered vision dysfunctions often adversely affect the outcome of any therapeutic intervention our col- leagues in rehabilitation may use. All professionals should know how appropriate eye and vision care will enhance the doctor’s, therapist’s, and special educator’s ability to be successful in achieving the goals set forth in the indi- vidual’s medical and/or educational plan. The publication of this text strongly supports the inclusion of the op- tometrist as a part of any multidisciplinary care team for individuals with special needs. This book provides a better understanding of the most frequently encountered developmental and acquired dis- abilities seen in the eye care practitioner’s office. These disabilities include patients with autism, brain injury, Frag- ile X syndrome, and Down syndrome, as well as those with psychiatric illness, dual diagnosis, and more. The vi- sual issues inherent in these populations and their possi- ble treatment are discussed in great detail. This book contains contributions from many NSUCO fac- ulty members. Dr. Bartuccio wrote the chapter “Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).” She, along with Nadine Girgis, O.D., FAAO , also wrote the chapter ti- tled “Vision Screening,” while Rachel Coulter, O.D., FAAO, FCOVD , authored the chapter about “Autism.” Erin Je- newein, O.D., M.S., FAAO , covered the “Diagnosis and Treatment of Binocular Vision Disorders,” while Yin C. Tea, O.D., FAAO , and Jacqueline Rodena, O.D. , addressed the topic of “Strabismus and Amblyopia.” Deborah Amster, O.D., FAAO, FCOVD , penned the chapter about “Vision In- formation Processing Disorders.” For more information on Visual Diagnosis and Care of the Patient with Special Needs, please visit www.LWW.com. Amblyopia, a developmental disorder of spatial vision, is thought to result from a cascade of cortical deficits over several processing stages beginning at the primary visual cortex (V1). However, beyond V1, little is known about how cortical development limits the visual performance of amblyopic primates. Dr. Bi quantitatively analyzed the monocular and binocular responses of V1 and V2 neurons in a group of strabismic monkeys exhibiting varying depths of amblyopia. Unlike in V1, the relative effectiveness of the affected eye in driving V2 neurons was drastically reduced in the amblyopic monkeys. The spatial resolution and the orientation bias of V2 neurons were subnormal for the affected eyes. Binocular suppression was robust in both cortical areas, and the magnitude of suppression in individ- ual monkeys was correlated with the depth of their amblyopia. These results suggest that the reduced functional connections be- yond V1 and the subnormal spatial filter properties of V2 neurons might have substantially limited the sensitivity of the amblyopic eyes and that interocular suppression was likely to have played a key role in the observed alterations of V2 responses and the emer- gence of amblyopia. This is the first evidence describing the deficits in the extrastriate visual cortex and was published in Cerebral Cor- tex , a journal with an impact factor close to seven. AMBLYOPIA Hua Bi, O.D., Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Optometry Dr. Bartuccio continued...