title: The innate vs. the learned: visual imagery and the role of experience.
abstract: Behavioral optometry has certain basic tenets. This paper attempts to probe the philosophical base of one of these, the role of experience as it relates to visual imagery and visualization, to determine if it stands up to scrutiny. Recent studies involving the congenitally blind are presented that appear to demonstrate the existence of important unlearned factors. The implications of these and their clinical application are discussed.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001766:Blindness / Q000151:congenital* / Q000534:rehabilitation; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007092:Imagination; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011932:Reading; D012682:Sensory Aids / Q000592:standards; D013028:Space Perception; D014796:Visual Perception