Thompson, BBlack, JDai, SHamm, Lisa2015-12-1520152015http://hdl.handle.net/2292/27778Our aim was to better understand the causes, consequences and potential for rehabilitation of deprivation amblyopia due to childhood cataract. We were motivated by diverse fields including public health research related to prevention of blindness, psychophysical investigation of different forms of amblyopia, and animal models exploring the basic science of visual deprivation and critical period plasticity. Despite the wealth of knowledge in each of these related fields, little evidence-based research is available about deprivation amblyopia for physicians and parents of children with cataracts. We designed the project using an interdisciplinary, exploratory approach, including semi-structured interviews, psychophysical assessment, and a case series pilot intervention. Fifty-three children with amblyopia participated in various aspects of the project. Fifteen had bilateral deprivation amblyopia, and 18 had unilateral deprivation amblyopia, each with a history of childhood cataract. Twenty participants had anisometropic or strabismic amblyopia, and this group acted as a reference to connect findings in deprivation amblyopia to the more common, and better-understood forms of the condition. Additionally, ten children with normal visual history and 23 adults with normal vision participated in aspects of the project as controls. The project was completed between two sites, Auckland, New Zealand and Guangzhou, China. Our semi-structured interviews revealed that some delays in service acquisition occurred, highlighting areas for potential systemic improvements. Amblyopia treatment emerged through the interviews as one of the more arduous aspects of the treatment pathway, making alternatives relevant for this population. The psychophysics component of the project demonstrated that almost all children with deprivation amblyopia were able to combine information between their eyes, at least intermittently, despite having immeasurable stereoacuity and poor contrast sensitivity. Finally, our pilot amblyopia treatment study indicated that challenging this rudimentary binocular system could improve a range of visual functions in participants with deprivation amblyopia. This exploratory study suggests that implementing emerging strategies from related fields could have tangible benefits for children with deprivation amblyopia due to childhood cataract. Further, looking at each of these fields through the lens of deprivation amblyopia adds a new and potentially valuable perspective with further reaching implications.Items in ResearchSpace are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated. Previously published items are made available in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher.Whole document is available to authenticated members of The University of Auckland until 12/2016. Items in ResearchSpace are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.https://researchspace.auckland.ac.nz/docs/uoa-docs/rights.htmThesisCopyright: The Authorhttp://purl.org/eprint/accessRights/OpenAccessQ112200787