title: Visual stress, its treatment with spectral filters, and its relationship to visually induced motion sickness.
abstract: We review the concept of visual stress and its relation to neurological disease. Visual stress can occur from the observation of images with unnatural spatial structure and an excess of contrast energy at spatial frequencies to which the visual system is generally most sensitive. Visual stress can often be reduced using spectral filters, provided the colour is selected with precision to suit each individual. The use of such filters and their effects on reading speed are reviewed. The filters have been shown to benefit patients with a variety of neurological conditions other than reading difficulty, all associated with an increased risk of seizures.
authors.affiliation: University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester, Essex, CO4 3SQ, UK. arnold@essex.ac.uk
authors.forename: Arnold Jonathan
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Wilkins
authors.forename: Bruce J W
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Evans
mesh_terms: D003116:Color; D006801:Humans; D007909:Lenses; D009041:Motion Sickness / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy*; D009422:Nervous System Diseases; D055095:Optics and Photonics; D010775:Photic Stimulation / Q000009:adverse effects*; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D011932:Reading