Oculomotor Rehabilitation Improves Reading Abilities in Dyslexic Children With Concurrent Eye Movement Abnormalities.

The oculomotor abnormalities have been reported in some dyslexic children. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the effects of oculomotor rehabilitation on the reading performance of dyslexic children. Subjects were 50 dyslexic children. Those with oculomotor abnormalities (n = 30) were randomly assigned into 2 groups matched for age. The case group received oculomotor rehabilitation. The rehabilitation program consists of 3 different exercises. The reading and dyslexia tests were performed before and after the intervention. The correct scores of reading tests in the case group posttest increased significantly compared with the control group, and there is a significant difference between the two groups (P = .001). The positive effects of oculomotor rehabilitation on the reading performance of dyslexic children confirmed that the oculomotor program could be a practical tool for improving reading performance in dyslexic children.

Changing vergence function in persons with Parkinson's disease and convergence insufficiency.

Individuals with Parkinson's disease and convergence insufficiency were assigned vergence training. After two months, average positive fusional vergence increased and average near point of convergence decreased. Vergence can be improved with training in persons with Parkinson's disease who also have convergence insufficiency.

Systematic review of visual rehabilitation interventions for oculomotor deficits in patients with brain injury.

Purpose: Secondary to brain injury, many people develop eye movement disorders (oculomotor deficits). To clarify, optimize, and standardize the development of oculomotor rehabilitation programs, we systematically reviewed the literature on vision rehabilitation interventions for oculomotor deficits in brain injury, focusing on those with broad clinical feasibility.Materials and Methods: We searched MEDLINE (PubMed), CENTRAL, Scopus, and CINAHL databases for key title terms "oculomotor", "rehabilitation", or a related term, and "brain injury" or a related term in the title or abstract. We excluded case reports of a single patient, studies of non-oculomotor visual deficits, and articles in which the intervention and assessment methods were not explicitly identified.Results: Nine articles were included, six of which utilized computer-based training programs to elicit characteristic fixation, saccades, pursuit, vergence, and accommodative movements. Within the entire sample, interventions ranged from 3 to 10 weeks, and involved 2 to 5 training sessions per week.Conclusions: Oculomotor rehabilitation interventions showed some efficacy in treating patients with brain injury; however, there were very few studies overall. Several eye movement types - fixation, saccades, pursuit, vergence, and accommodation - can be elicited manually by therapists. We eagerly await the development and implementation of new intervention programs for broad-based clinical practice.

Therapist-assisted vision therapy improves outcome for stroke patients with homonymous hemianopia alone or combined with oculomotor dysfunction.

OBJECTIVE: To improve visual performance and perception in stroke patients suffering from visual impairments by the use of therapist-assisted vision therapy. METHODS: This study was an interventional efficacy open-label investigation. The vision therapy was designed to enhance binocular vision, and saccadic ability, and vergence ranges maximally, and for patients with hemianopia also to improve peripheral awareness. The vision training consisted of one lesson a week for 12 weeks carried out by an optometrist and a vision therapist. Between lessons, patients were to train at home for a minimum of 15-20 min daily. RESULTS: Twenty-four patients completed the course. Significant improvements in visual performance were measured for all test parameters from the baseline to the evaluation after the last lesson of vision training. The COPM results improved both in terms of satisfaction with the completion of a task and with the way the task was carried out (p = 0.001). Groffman tracing test results improved from median 7.5 to 16 (p = 0.002), reading speed in words increased (p = 0.0004), and peripheral awareness of visual markers improved (p = 0.002). CONCLUSION: Therapist-assisted vision therapy increased peripheral visual awareness. Furthermore patients felt safer in the traffic and in outdoor activities. Reading speed significantly increased, and the ability to keep a moving object in focus improved.

Assessment of neuro-optometric rehabilitation using the Developmental Eye Movement (DEM) test in adults with acquired brain injury.

PURPOSE: This pilot study sought to determine the efficacy of using the Developmental Eye Movement (DEM) test in the adult, acquired brain injury (ABI) population to quantify clinically the effects of controlled, laboratory-performed, oculomotor-based vision therapy/vision rehabilitation. METHODS: Nine adult subjects with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) and five with stroke were assessed before and after an eight-week, computer-based, versional oculomotor (fixation, saccades, pursuit, and simulated reading) training program (9.6h total). The protocol incorporated a cross-over, interventional design with and without the addition of auditory feedback regarding two-dimensional eye position. The clinical outcome measure was the Developmental Eye Movement (DEM) test score (ratio, errors) taken before, midway, and immediately following training. RESULTS: For the DEM ratio parameter, improvements were found in 80-89% of the subjects. For the DEM error parameter, improvements were found in 100% of the subjects. Incorporation of the auditory feedback component revealed a trend toward enhanced performance. The findings were similar for both DEM parameters, as well as for incorporation of the auditory feedback, in both diagnostic groups. DISCUSSION: The results of the present study demonstrated considerable improvements in the DEM test scores following the oculomotor-based training, thus reflecting more time-optimal and accurate saccadic tracking after the training. The DEM test should be considered as another clinical test of global saccadic tracking performance in the ABI population.

Efficacy of vision therapy in children with learning disability and associated binocular vision anomalies.

PURPOSE: To report the frequency of binocular vision (BV) anomalies in children with specific learning disorders (SLD) and to assess the efficacy of vision therapy (VT) in children with a non-strabismic binocular vision anomaly (NSBVA). METHODS: The study was carried out at a centre for learning disability (LD). Comprehensive eye examination and binocular vision assessment was carried out for 94 children (mean (SD) age: 15 (2.2) years) diagnosed with specific learning disorder. BV assessment was done for children with best corrected visual acuity of ≥6/9 - N6, cooperative for examination and free from any ocular pathology. For children with a diagnosis of NSBVA (n=46), 24 children were randomized to VT and no intervention was provided to the other 22 children who served as experimental controls. At the end of 10 sessions of vision therapy, BV assessment was performed for both the intervention and non-intervention groups. RESULTS: Binocular vision anomalies were found in 59 children (62.8%) among which 22% (n=13) had strabismic binocular vision anomalies (SBVA) and 78% (n=46) had a NSBVA. Accommodative infacility (AIF) was the commonest of the NSBVA and found in 67%, followed by convergence insufficiency (CI) in 25%. Post-vision therapy, the intervention group showed significant improvement in all the BV parameters (Wilcoxon signed rank test, p<0.05) except negative fusional vergence. CONCLUSION: Children with specific learning disorders have a high frequency of binocular vision disorders and vision therapy plays a significant role in improving the BV parameters. Children with SLD should be screened for BV anomalies as it could potentially be an added hindrance to the reading difficulty in this special population.

Long-Term Maintenance of Executive-Related Oculomotor Improvements in Older Adults with Self-Reported Cognitive Complaints Following a 24-Week Multiple Modality Exercise Program.

Adults (≥55 years) with self-reported cognitive complaints (sCC) were randomized to: multiple-modality exercise (M2), or multiple-modality plus mind-motor exercise (M4), for 24-weeks. Participants (n = 58) were assessed on antisaccade reaction time (RT) to examine executive-related oculomotor control and self-reported physical activity (PA) at pre-intervention (V0), post-intervention (V1), and 52-weeks follow-up (V2). We previously reported significant improvements in antisaccade RT of 23 ms at V1, in both groups. We now report maintenance of antisaccade RT improvement from V1 to V2, t(57) = 0.8, p = 0.45, and improved PA from V1 to V2, t(56) = -2.4, p = 0.02. Improvements in executive-related oculomotor control attained at V1 were maintained at V2.

The effect of spectacle treatment in patients with mild traumatic brain injury: a pilot study.

BACKGROUND: Visual symptoms and dysfunctions may be a part of the long-term issues following mild traumatic brain injury. These issues may have an impact on near work and reading, and thus affect activities of daily life and the ability to return to work. The purpose of the study was to assess the effect of spectacle treatment on near work-related visual symptoms, visual function and reading performance in patients with persisting symptoms after mild traumatic brain injury. METHODS: Eight patients with persisting symptoms after mild traumatic brain injury and anomalies of binocular function were included. Binocular function, visual symptoms and reading performance were assessed before and after spectacle treatment. Reading eye movements were recorded with eye tracking. RESULTS: Four patients showed a considerable symptom reduction along with minor improvement in clinical visual measures. Reading performance improved in four patients; however, the relationship to symptom reduction was inconsistent. The improvement was correlated to reduced average number of fixations per word (r = -0.89, p = 0.02), reduced proportion of regressive saccades (r = -0.93, p = 0.01) and a significant increase of mean progressive saccade length (p = 0.03). CONCLUSION: This pilot study found that spectacle treatment, specifically directed at optimising near task visual function, significantly reduced symptoms in 50 per cent of patients and improved reading performance in 50 per cent. While promising, lack of placebo control and lack of correlation between reading performance and symptom improvements means we cannot decipher mechanisms without further study.

Use of NeuroEyeCoach™ to Improve Eye Movement Efficacy in Patients with Homonymous Visual Field Loss.

Visual field deficits are common in patients with damaged retinogeniculostriate pathways. The patient's eye movements are often affected leading to inefficient visual search. Systematic eye movement training also called compensatory therapy is needed to allow patients to develop effective coping strategies. There is a lack of evidence-based, clinical gold-standard registered medical device accessible to patients at home or in clinical settings and NeuroEyeCoach (NEC) is developed to address this need. In three experiments, we report on performance of patients on NEC compared to the data obtained previously on the earlier versions of the search task (n = 32); we assessed whether the self-administered computerised tasks can be used to monitor the progress (n = 24) and compared the findings in a subgroup of patients to a healthy control group. Performance on cancellation tasks, simple visual search, and self-reported responses on activities of daily living was compared, before and after training. Patients performed similarly well on NEC as on previous versions of the therapy; the inbuilt functionality for pre- and postevaluation functions was sensitive to allowing assessment of improvements; and improvements in patients were significantly greater than those in a group of healthy adults. In conclusion, NeuroEyeCoach can be used as an effective rehabilitation tool to develop compensatory strategies in patients with visual field deficits after brain injury.

Relationship Between Cognitive Assessment and Balance Measures in Adolescents Referred for Vestibular Physical Therapy After Concussion.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the relationship between cognitive and balance performance in adolescents with concussion. DESIGN: Retrospective case series. SETTING: Tertiary. PATIENTS: Sixty patients. INTERVENTIONS: Correlation analyses were performed to describe the relationship between symptoms, cognitive measure, and balance measure at the time of initiation of vestibular physical therapy. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Cognitive performance was assessed using the Immediate Post-concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing (ImPACT). The dizziness and balance function measures included dizziness severity rating, Activities-specific Balance Confidence scale (ABC), Dizziness Handicap Inventory (DHI), Functional Gait Assessment, gait speed, Timed "UP and GO," Five Times Sit to Stand, and Sensory Organization Test (SOT). To account for multiple comparisons, the False Discovery Rate method was used. RESULTS: Performance measures of balance were significantly correlated with cognitive measures. Greater total symptom scores were related to greater impairment in the ABC and DHI (r = 0.35-0.39, P ≤ 0.008) and worse performance in condition 2 of the SOT (r = -0.48, P = 0.004). Among the ImPACT composite scores, lower memory scores were correlated with impaired balance performance measures (r = 0.37-0.59, P ≤ 0.012). Lower visual memory was also correlated with worse ABC scores. CONCLUSIONS: The significant relationships reported between the cognitive performance scores and balance measures may reflect that similar levels of functioning exist across domains in individuals with protracted recovery who receive vestibular physical therapy. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: The weak-to-moderate relationships warrant the continuous use of multiple domains of assessment. A better understanding to the relationships between the domains of functioning after concussion may improve the overall management approach for adolescents with concussion.

Short-term persistence of oculomotor rehabilitative changes in mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI): A pilot study of clinical effects.

PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: In our earlier published studies, oculomotor therapy (OMT) was performed in 15 individuals with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) and over 90% of the clinical oculomotor parameters abnormal at baseline significantly improved immediately following the OMT. There was no placebo (P) effect on any of the parameters. The purpose of the present pilot study was to assess the short-term persistence of the previously obtained positive OMT findings. RESEARCH DESIGN: Upon completion of the OMT, clinical oculomotor parameters were re-assessed at 3-month and 6-month periods. No subsequent training was performed during this 6-month period. METHODS AND PROCEDURES: Clinical measures were repeated in eight of the 15 subjects who subsequently completed both the 3-month and 6-month follow-up assessments. All measures were assessed using conventional clinical testing methods. MAIN OUTCOMES AND RESULTS: Eight of the 13 (62%) clinical oculomotor parameters exhibited either persistence of, or delayed, improvement at the 3 and 6 month follow-up intervals. CONCLUSIONS: Findings demonstrate both the presence and persistence of oculomotor-based changes, suggestive of neural plasticity even in the adult, compromised brain. Further studies are warranted to confirm and extend the present pilot findings.

Effect of oculomotor rehabilitation on accommodative responsivity in mild traumatic brain injury.

Accommodative dysfunction is a common oculomotor sequelae of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). This study evaluated a range of dynamic (objective) and static (subjective) measures of accommodation in 12 nonstrabismic individuals with mTBI and near vision-related symptoms before and after oculomotor training (OMT) and placebo (P) training (6 wk, two sessions per week, 3 h of training each). Following OMT, the dynamics of accommodation improved markedly. Clinically, there was a significant increase in the maximum accommodative amplitude both monocularly and binocularly. In addition, the near vision symptoms reduced along with improved visual attention. None of the measures were found to change significantly following P training. These results provide evidence for a significant positive effect of the accommodatively based OMT on accommodative responsivity. Such improvement is suggestive of oculomotor learning, demonstrating considerable residual brain-visual system plasticity in the adult compromised brain.

Versional eye tracking in mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI): effects of oculomotor training (OMT).

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate a range of objective measures of versional eye movements before and after oculomotor training (OMT) in individuals with mTBI. The results were compared with placebo (P) training. METHODS: Twelve individuals with mTBI (mean age = 29 ± 3 years) having oculomotor-based near-vision symptoms participated in the study. Versional eye movements were recorded objectively before and after OMT (fixation, predictable saccades, simulated reading) and P training (6 weeks each, two sessions/week, 45 minutes/session). RESULTS: Following OMT, there was a significant (p < 0.05) reduction in the horizontal fixational error. Saccadic gain increased both horizontally and vertically (p < 0.05). The saccade ratio for the simulated reading, multiple-line paradigm reduced significantly (p < 0.05). None of the measures changed significantly following the P training. CONCLUSIONS: The versional-based OMT had a significant, positive effect on most aspects of versional tracking. These findings are suggestive of improved rhythmicity, accuracy and sequencing of saccades following OMT in mTBI as a result of oculomotor learning.

Task-modulated coactivation of vergence neural substrates.

While functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has identified which regions of interests (ROIs) are functionally active during a vergence movement (inward or outward eye rotation), task-modulated coactivation between ROIs is less understood. This study tested the following hypotheses: (1) significant task-modulated coactivation would be observed between the frontal eye fields (FEFs), the posterior parietal cortex (PPC), and the cerebellar vermis (CV); (2) significantly more functional activity and task-modulated coactivation would be observed in binocularly normal controls (BNCs) compared with convergence insufficiency (CI) subjects; and (3) after vergence training, the functional activity and task-modulated coactivation would increase in CIs compared with their baseline measurements. A block design of sustained fixation versus vergence eye movements stimulated activity in the FEFs, PPC, and CV. fMRI data from four CI subjects before and after vergence training were compared with seven BNCs. Functional activity was assessed using the blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) percent signal change. Task-modulated coactivation was assessed using an ROI-based task-modulated coactivation analysis that revealed significant correlation between the FEF, PPC, and CV ROIs. Prior to vergence training, the CIs had a reduced BOLD percent signal change compared with BNCs for the CV (p<0.05), FEFs, and PPC (p<0.01). The BOLD percent signal change increased within the CV, FEF, and PPC ROIs (p<0.001) as did the task-modulated coactivation between the FEFs and CV as well as the PPC and CV (p<0.05) when comparing the CI pre- and post-training datasets. Results from the Convergence Insufficiency Symptom Survey were correlated to the percent BOLD signal change from the FEFs and CV (p<0.05).

Effect of oculomotor vision rehabilitation on the visual-evoked potential and visual attention in mild traumatic brain injury.

PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the experiment was to investigate the effect of oculomotor vision rehabilitation (OVR) on the visual-evoked potential (VEP) and visual attention in the mTBI population. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Subjects (n = 7) were adults with a history of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). Each received 9 hours of OVR over a 6-week period. The effects of OVR on VEP amplitude and latency, the attention-related alpha band (8-13 Hz) power (µV(2)) and the clinical Visual Search and Attention Test (VSAT) were assessed before and after the OVR. RESULTS: After the OVR, the VEP amplitude increased and its variability decreased. There was no change in VEP latency, which was normal. Alpha band power increased, as did the VSAT score, following the OVR. CONCLUSIONS: The significant changes in most test parameters suggest that OVR affects the visual system at early visuo-cortical levels, as well as other pathways which are involved in visual attention.

Oculomotor neurorehabilitation for reading in mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI): an integrative approach.

BACKGROUND: Considering the extensive neural network of the oculomotor subsystems, traumatic brain injury (TBI) could affect oculomotor control and related reading dysfunction. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate comprehensively the effect of oculomotor-based vision rehabilitation (OBVR) in individuals with mTBI. METHODS: Twelve subjects with mTBI participated in a cross-over, interventional study involving oculomotor training (OMT) and sham training (ST). Each training was performed for 6 weeks, 2 sessions a week. During each training session, all three oculomotor subsystems (vergence/accommodation/version) were trained in a randomized order across sessions. All laboratory and clinical parameters were determined before and after OMT and ST. In addition, nearvision-related symptoms using the Convergence Insufficiency Symptom Survey (CISS) scale and subjective visual attention using the Visual Search and Attention Test (VSAT) were assessed. RESULTS: Following the OMT, over 80% of the abnormal parameters significantly improved. Reading rate, along with the amplitudes of vergence and accommodation, improved markedly. Saccadic eye movements demonstrated enhanced rhythmicity and accuracy. The improved reading-related oculomotor behavior was reflected in reduced symptoms and increased visual attention. None of the parameters changed with ST. CONCLUSIONS: OBVR had a strong positive effect on oculomotor control, reading rate, and overall reading ability. This oculomotor learning effect suggests considerable residual neuroplasticity following mTBI.

Changes in vergence dynamics due to repetition.

Vergence insufficiency is frequent in many populations including children with vertigo in the absence of measurable vestibular dysfunction. Orthoptic exercises are typically used to improve vergence and the clinical practice suggests that simple repetition of vergence movements improves it. Objective eye movement recordings were used to asses the dynamics and spatial-temporal properties of convergence (8.7°) and divergence (2.7°) along the midline while these movements were repeated 80 times. Eight children, aged on average 13years and showing vertigo symptoms accompanied with vergence insufficiency, participated. For both, convergence and divergence the velocity increased and the overall duration decreased; the amplitude of the mean transient component of the response changed significantly. These findings are compatible with models of double mode control of vergence eye movements (transient - open-loop vs. sustained - closed loop). Due to simple repetitions a real improvement in the dynamics of vergence along the midline occurred.

Improvement of fine motor skills in children with visual impairment: an explorative study.

In this study we analysed the potential spin-off of magnifier training on the fine-motor skills of visually impaired children. The fine-motor skills of 4- and 5-year-old visually impaired children were assessed using the manual skills test for children (6-12 years) with a visual impairment (ManuVis) and movement assessment for children (Movement ABC), before and after receiving a 12-sessions training within a 6-weeks period. The training was designed to practice the use of a stand magnifier, as part of a larger research project on low-vision aids. In this study, fifteen children trained with a magnifier; seven without. Sixteen children had nystagmus. In this group head orientation (ocular torticollis) was monitored. Results showed an age-related progress in children's fine-motor skills after the training, irrespective of magnifier condition: performance speed of the ManuVis items went from 333.4s to 273.6s on average. Accuracy in the writing tasks also increased. Finally, for the children with nystagmus, an increase of ocular torticollis was found. These results suggest a careful reconsideration of which intervention is most effective for enhancing perceptuomotor performance in visually impaired children: specific 'fine-motor' training or 'non-specific' visual-attention training with a magnifier.