Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37431104›Full record

ReviewEuropean journal of ophthalmology2024

Harnessing brain plasticity to improve binocular vision in amblyopia: An evidence-based update.

Benjamin Thompson, Maria Concetta Morrone, Peter Bex, Anthony Lozama, Bernhard A Sabel

Open access · hybridAbstract readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in European journal of ophthalmology, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 29 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
29citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
5.1field-weighted citation impact, top 4% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

29 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 29 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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  12. Prospective observational study of three real-world amblyopia treatments in children: clinical outcomes and predictive factors.Graefe's archive for clinical and experimental ophthalmology = Albrecht von Graefes Archiv fur klinische und experimentelle Ophthalmologie · 2025
    Observational
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  18. Childhood amblyopia in a tertiary eye care center in western India.International journal of ophthalmology · 2025
    Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 5 institutions in 7 countries.

Benjamin ThompsonDepartment of Optometry and Vision Science, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada.
Maria Concetta MorroneDepartment of Translational Research on New Technologies in Medicine and Surgery, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy.
Peter BexDepartment of Psychology, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA.
Anthony LozamaNovartis Pharmaceutical Corporation, East Hanover, NJ, USA.
Bernhard A SabelInstitute of Medical Psychology, Faculty of Medicine, Otto-von-Guericke University of Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany.
Hong Kong Eye Hospital · CNNortheastern University · USNovartis (United States) · USOtto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg · DEUniversity of Pisa · IT

Funding

ARBi - Assessment and Rehabilitation of Binocular Sensorimotor DisordersR01EY032162 · NEI · NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY · PI Peter John Bex, David G HUNTER · 2022 to 2026
$2.4M
NEI NIH HHS R01 EY032162
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Amblyopia is a developmental visual disorder resulting from atypical binocular experience in early childhood that leads to abnormal visual cortex development and vision impairment. Recovery from amblyopia requires significant visual cortex neuroplasticity, i.e. the ability of the central nervous system and its synaptic connections to adapt their structure and function. There is a high level of neuroplasticity in early development and, historically, neuroplastic responses to changes in visual experience were thought to be restricted to a "critical period" in early life. However, as our review now shows, the evidence is growing that plasticity of the adult visual system can also be harnessed to improve vision in amblyopia. Amblyopia treatment involves correcting refractive error to ensure clear and equal retinal image formation in both eyes, then, if necessary, promoting the use of the amblyopic eye by hindering or reducing visual input from the better eye through patching or pharmacologic therapy. Early treatment in children can lead to visual acuity gains and the development of binocular vision in some cases; however, many children do not respond to treatment, and many adults with amblyopia have historically been untreated or undertreated. Here we review the current evidence on how dichoptic training can be used as a novel binocular therapeutic approach to facilitate visual processing of input from the amblyopic eye and can simultaneously engage both eyes in a training task that requires binocular integration. It is a novel and promising treatment for amblyopia in both children and adults.

Indexed as

AmblyopiaNeuronal PlasticityVision, BinocularVisual AcuityHumansSensory DeprivationVisual CortexAmblyopiaEso and Exo deviationseye movement disordersneuro ophthalmologystrabismus

Identifiers

PMID37431104
PMCPMC11295393
OpenAlexW4383872975

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.