SIGNIFICANCE:Increasing evidence indicates that childhood binocular vision disorders that lead to stereodeficiency may be treated in adulthood. Reports of patients who gain stereopsis as adults indicate that this achievement provides for a qualitatively different and dramatically improved sense of space and depth.PURPOSE:Increasing evidence suggests that stereopsis can be achieved in adult patients despite long-standing binocular disorders. We polled individuals who gained stereopsis as adults to ascertain their initial binocular disorders, the length of time they were stereodeficient, effective treatments, and the nature of their recovered stereovision.METHODS:A questionnaire was posted online and announced in a brief article in the journal Vision Development and Rehabilitation.RESULTS:Of the 63 responders, 56 (89%) reported strabismus and/or amblyopia, and 55 (87%) indicated that they had been stereodeficient for as long as they could remember. All but seven participants (89%) achieved stereovision through vision training or a combination of surgery and vision training, and many reported vivid visual changes.CONCLUSIONS:Despite childhood binocular disorders, patients may be able to achieve stereopsis following interventions in adulthood. This achievement provides for a qualitatively different and dramatically improved sense of space and depth.

Vision Development & Rehabilitation Volume 1, Issue 1 • April 2015 In recent years it has become clear that those born with deficient stereoscopic vision can acquire this capacity as adults under some circumstances. Sue Barry, who had no measurable stereopsis, acquired better than 100 arcseconds of stereoacuity following one year of optometric vision therapy (Barry, 2009). Bruce Bridgeman experienced stereopsis after viewing the film “Hugo” in 3D (Bridgeman, 2014), an ability that has endured for more than two years. Fortunately, professionally measured stereoscopic thresholds were available for periods both before and after the Hugo experience; static stereoacuity improved from 200 arc seconds on Wirt Circles before the experience to 80 are seconds afterward. Media reports on CNN, BBC and other sources resulted in emails from people all over the world who had similar experiences. This raises the possibility that some patients viewing a 2-hour film in stereoscopic 3D might experience benefits such as those gained through more formalized therapy. For future clinical interventions it is important to know for the recovered patients both what kinds of visual anomalies resulted in poor stereopsis, and what kinds of experiences triggered acquisition of stereopsis. To investigate this further, Bridgeman has created a survey to document the experiences of those who had acquired stereopsis. To extend this survey to the maximum number of patients, we are asking optometrists and other vision professionals to offer the survey to patients who have acquired stereopsis, either through formal training or informal experience such as viewing a 3D film. The survey is available online at http://bit.ly/1vThYaM.

The FASEB JournalVolume 25, Issue 3 p. 819-821 Book ReviewFree to Read The Mind's Eye by Oliver Sacks (2010), Alfred A. Knopf, New York Correction(s) for this article Errata Volume 25Issue 5The FASEB Journal pages: 1775-1775 First Published online: May 1, 2011 Susan R. Barry, Corresponding Author Susan R. Barry sbarry@mtholyoke.edu Department of Biological Sciences, Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, Massachusetts, USACorrespondence: E-mail: sbarry@mtholyoke.eduSearch for more papers by this author Susan R. Barry, Corresponding Author Susan R. Barry sbarry@mtholyoke.edu Department of Biological Sciences, Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, Massachusetts, USACorrespondence: E-mail: sbarry@mtholyoke.eduSearch for more papers by this author First published: 01 March 2011 https://doi.org/10.1096/fj.11-0303ufmRead the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat No abstract is available for this article. Volume25, Issue3March 2011Pages 819-821 RelatedInformation

The synapse is the locus of plasticity where short-term alterations in synaptic strength are converted to long-lasting memories. In addition to the presynaptic terminal and the postsynaptic compartment, a more holistic view of the synapse includes the astrocytes and the extracellular matrix to form a tetrapartite synapse. All these four elements contribute to synapse health and are crucial for synaptic plasticity events and, thereby, for learning and memory processes. Synaptic dysfunction is a common pathogenic trait of several brain disorders. In Alzheimer's Disease, the degeneration of synapses can be detected at the early stages of pathology progression before neuronal degeneration, supporting the hypothesis that synaptic failure is a major determinant of the disease. The synapse is the place where amyloid-β peptides are generated and is the target of the toxic amyloid-β oligomers. All the elements constituting the tetrapartite synapse are altered in Alzheimer's Disease and can synergistically contribute to synaptic dysfunction. Moreover, the two main hallmarks of Alzheimer's Disease, i.e., amyloid-β and tau, act in concert to cause synaptic deficits. Deciphering the mechanisms underlying synaptic dysfunction is relevant for the development of the next-generation therapeutic strategies aimed at modifying the disease progression.

THIS paper examines the contribution of egocentric cues and visual context to manual localization of remembered targets. Subjects pointed in the dark to the remembered position of a target previously viewed without or within a structured visual scene. Without a remembered visual context, subjects pointed to within 2 degrees of the target. The presence of a visual context with cues of straight ahead enhanced pointing performance to the remembered location of central but not off-center targets. Thus, visual context provides strong visual cues of target position and the relationship of body position to target location. Without a visual context, egocentric cues provide sufficient input for accurate pointing to remembered targets.