title: Improving visual functions in adult amblyopia with combined perceptual training and transcranial random noise stimulation (tRNS): a pilot study.
abstract: Amblyopia is a visual disorder due to an abnormal pattern of functional connectivity of the visual cortex and characterized by several visual deficits of spatial vision including impairments of visual acuity (VA) and of the contrast sensitivity function (CSF). Despite being a developmental disorder caused by reduced visual stimulation during early life (critical period), several studies have shown that extensive visual perceptual training can improve VA and CSF in people with amblyopia even in adulthood. With the present study we assessed whether a much shorter perceptual training regime, in association with high-frequency transcranial electrical stimulation (hf-tRNS), was able to improve visual functions in a group of adult participants with amblyopia. Results show that, in comparison with previous studies where a large number sessions with a similar training regime were used (Polat et al., 2004), here just eight sessions of training in contrast detection under lateral masking conditions combined with hf-tRNS, were able to substantially improve VA and CSF in adults with amblyopia.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Psychology, University of Padova Padova, Italy ; Human Inspired Technologies Research Centre, University of Padova Padova, Italy.
authors.forename: Gianluca
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Campana
authors.affiliation: Department of General Psychology, University of Padova Padova, Italy.
authors.forename: Rebecca
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Camilleri
authors.affiliation: Institut für Experimentelle Psychologie, Universität Regensburg Regensburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pavan
authors.affiliation: San Paolo Ophthalmic Center, San Antonio Hospital Padova, Italy.
authors.forename: Antonella
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Veronese
authors.affiliation: San Paolo Ophthalmic Center, San Antonio Hospital Padova, Italy.
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lo Giudice
keywords: amblyopia; contrast sensitivity; lateral masking; perceptual learning; tRNS; visual acuity