Eye Movements and Grating Acuity in Strabismic Amblyopia

Abstract

Horizontal fixation eye movements were measured and shown to be abnormal in the strabismic eyes of a sample of 4 strabismic amblyopes. The degree to which these eye movements affect contrast thresholds is assessed by comparing grating acuity for the normal and fellow amblyopic eye under stabilized and unstabilized viewing conditions. The results indicate that the degree of amblyopia for this frequency does not significantly decrease for the image-stabilized condition. It is concluded that this eye movement abnormality is unlikely to contribute to the amblyope’s contrast sensitivity abnormality at any frequency, and any theory of amblyopia which relies upon visual degradation from these abnormal eye movements is unsubstantiated.