Traces of early developmental bias in the adult brain

Abstract During the first 2 years of life, there is a high prevalence of optical distortions in the human eye, causing vertical blur on the retina (astigmatism), which is naturally resolved by the age of 5; thus, it is not treated. Here we determined the possible long-term effects on visual grouping...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Gad Serero, Maria Lev, Dov Sagi, Uri Polat
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2023-07-01
Series:Scientific Reports
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-38371-8
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Summary:Abstract During the first 2 years of life, there is a high prevalence of optical distortions in the human eye, causing vertical blur on the retina (astigmatism), which is naturally resolved by the age of 5; thus, it is not treated. Here we determined the possible long-term effects on visual grouping resulting from optical distortions during the development of visual perception. Our results show a clear directional bias in shape perception for optically corrected astigmatic adults, compared with non-astigmatic ones, with remarkably slow decision times. These effects can be explained by a mismatch between the developmental timescales of different components in the visual system.
ISSN:2045-2322