Sensory ocular dominance based on resolution acuity, contrast sensitivity and alignment sensitivity

Abstract

Background:  Ocular dominance is the superiority or preference of one eye over the other in terms of sighting, sensory function (for example, visual acuity) or persistence in binocular rivalry. There is poor agreement between sighting and sensory dominance and findings are equivocal on the possible neural basis of ocular dominance and its significance. Thus, there are questions on the meaning and importance of ocular dominance. Despite the lack of clarity in this area, ocular dominance is used clinically, for example, as the basis for decisions on monovision in contact lens wear and on treatment of anomalies of binocular vision.

Methods:  Sighting dominance and three types of sensory dominance (based on resolution acuity, contrast sensitivity and alignment sensitivity) were compared within individuals, with the main aim of determining whether sensory dominance is consistent across spatial visual functions.

Results:  Our findings indicate that each type of sensory dominance is insignificant in most individuals and in agreement with previous work that sensory and sighting dominance do not generally agree.

Conclusion:  These results demonstrate not only that different types of ocular dominance are not in agreement but also that in the normal visual system sensory dominance as measured here is insignificant in most individuals with normal vision.

Key words:

• acuity
• alignment sensitivity
• contrast sensitivity
• monovision
• ocular dominance
• sensory
• sighting