Eye-brain connection: an altered profile of spatial attention in myopia
BackgroundRefractive errors represent an important cause of visual impairment, impacting the quality of vision in billions of people across the globe. Degraded visual input may cause individuals with refractive errors to deploy greater attentional resources during visual tasks. We tested the hypothe...
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-05-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Neuroscience |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnins.2025.1593463/full |
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| author | Elie De Lestrange-Anginieur Elie De Lestrange-Anginieur Elie De Lestrange-Anginieur Elie De Lestrange-Anginieur Elie De Lestrange-Anginieur Feng Pan Feng Pan Feng Pan Feng Pan Feng Pan Benjamin Thompson Benjamin Thompson Kin Yau Wong |
| author_facet | Elie De Lestrange-Anginieur Elie De Lestrange-Anginieur Elie De Lestrange-Anginieur Elie De Lestrange-Anginieur Elie De Lestrange-Anginieur Feng Pan Feng Pan Feng Pan Feng Pan Feng Pan Benjamin Thompson Benjamin Thompson Kin Yau Wong |
| author_sort | Elie De Lestrange-Anginieur |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | BackgroundRefractive errors represent an important cause of visual impairment, impacting the quality of vision in billions of people across the globe. Degraded visual input may cause individuals with refractive errors to deploy greater attentional resources during visual tasks. We tested the hypothesis that myopia alters the pattern of visual attention.MethodsTwenty participants (10 near-emmetropes) performed an acuity discrimination task at random visual field locations (eccentricity range: 1–10°; spacing: 1°; polar coordinates of 0°, 90°, 180°or 270°) under conditions of neutral attention (no information on the stimulus position) and focused attention (target presentation in a single meridian), while fully optically corrected. The spatial distribution of attention-related modulation was estimated by the ratio of performance between the focused and neutral conditions across spatial eccentricities using acuity resolution (primary outcome) and reaction times (RT), as measures of attention.ResultsUse of linear mixed models revealed that the enhancing effect of attention follows a cubic spatial profile for acuity and RT, indicating a finite attentional window in myopes and emmetropes with a peak eccentricity at around 4°. Significant dependence of attention modulation on polar coordinate and refractive status was also identified (for both acuity and RT), with larger attention enhancement at the South position, compared to the North location, and lower attention efficiency in myopes, as compared to emmetropes across the visual field. Our modeling of attention-related modulation in acuity further indicated that myopes experience narrower attentional windows, suggesting a reallocation of cognitive resources.ConclusionThe study is the first, to our knowledge, to provide a detailed spatial profile of attention-related modulation linked to mild to regular myopia, highlighting a differential shape of the focus of attention with refractive status, which demonstrates a redistribution of attention with myopia. This revealed a link between myopia and visual attention, which requires further investigation. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-eaadaa7927aa4f7d858d5043914ad4ec |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 1662-453X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
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| series | Frontiers in Neuroscience |
| spelling | doaj-art-eaadaa7927aa4f7d858d5043914ad4ec2025-08-20T02:25:47ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Neuroscience1662-453X2025-05-011910.3389/fnins.2025.15934631593463Eye-brain connection: an altered profile of spatial attention in myopiaElie De Lestrange-Anginieur0Elie De Lestrange-Anginieur1Elie De Lestrange-Anginieur2Elie De Lestrange-Anginieur3Elie De Lestrange-Anginieur4Feng Pan5Feng Pan6Feng Pan7Feng Pan8Feng Pan9Benjamin Thompson10Benjamin Thompson11Kin Yau Wong12School of Optometry, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, ChinaCentre for Myopia Research, School of Optometry, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, ChinaResearch Centre for SHARP Vision (RCSV), The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, ChinaLaboratory of Experimental Optometry, Centre for Myopia Research, School of Optometry, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, ChinaCentre for Eye and Vision Research (CEVR), Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, ChinaSchool of Optometry, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, ChinaCentre for Myopia Research, School of Optometry, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, ChinaResearch Centre for SHARP Vision (RCSV), The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, ChinaLaboratory of Experimental Optometry, Centre for Myopia Research, School of Optometry, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, ChinaCentre for Eye and Vision Research (CEVR), Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, ChinaCentre for Eye and Vision Research (CEVR), Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, ChinaSchool of Optometry and Vision Science, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, CanadaDepartment of Applied Mathematics, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, ChinaBackgroundRefractive errors represent an important cause of visual impairment, impacting the quality of vision in billions of people across the globe. Degraded visual input may cause individuals with refractive errors to deploy greater attentional resources during visual tasks. We tested the hypothesis that myopia alters the pattern of visual attention.MethodsTwenty participants (10 near-emmetropes) performed an acuity discrimination task at random visual field locations (eccentricity range: 1–10°; spacing: 1°; polar coordinates of 0°, 90°, 180°or 270°) under conditions of neutral attention (no information on the stimulus position) and focused attention (target presentation in a single meridian), while fully optically corrected. The spatial distribution of attention-related modulation was estimated by the ratio of performance between the focused and neutral conditions across spatial eccentricities using acuity resolution (primary outcome) and reaction times (RT), as measures of attention.ResultsUse of linear mixed models revealed that the enhancing effect of attention follows a cubic spatial profile for acuity and RT, indicating a finite attentional window in myopes and emmetropes with a peak eccentricity at around 4°. Significant dependence of attention modulation on polar coordinate and refractive status was also identified (for both acuity and RT), with larger attention enhancement at the South position, compared to the North location, and lower attention efficiency in myopes, as compared to emmetropes across the visual field. Our modeling of attention-related modulation in acuity further indicated that myopes experience narrower attentional windows, suggesting a reallocation of cognitive resources.ConclusionThe study is the first, to our knowledge, to provide a detailed spatial profile of attention-related modulation linked to mild to regular myopia, highlighting a differential shape of the focus of attention with refractive status, which demonstrates a redistribution of attention with myopia. This revealed a link between myopia and visual attention, which requires further investigation.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnins.2025.1593463/fullrefractive errorsmyopiavisuospatial attentionvisual fieldattention window |
| spellingShingle | Elie De Lestrange-Anginieur Elie De Lestrange-Anginieur Elie De Lestrange-Anginieur Elie De Lestrange-Anginieur Elie De Lestrange-Anginieur Feng Pan Feng Pan Feng Pan Feng Pan Feng Pan Benjamin Thompson Benjamin Thompson Kin Yau Wong Eye-brain connection: an altered profile of spatial attention in myopia Frontiers in Neuroscience refractive errors myopia visuospatial attention visual field attention window |
| title | Eye-brain connection: an altered profile of spatial attention in myopia |
| title_full | Eye-brain connection: an altered profile of spatial attention in myopia |
| title_fullStr | Eye-brain connection: an altered profile of spatial attention in myopia |
| title_full_unstemmed | Eye-brain connection: an altered profile of spatial attention in myopia |
| title_short | Eye-brain connection: an altered profile of spatial attention in myopia |
| title_sort | eye brain connection an altered profile of spatial attention in myopia |
| topic | refractive errors myopia visuospatial attention visual field attention window |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnins.2025.1593463/full |
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