Optometry Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Optometry, including details on myopia, optometric practice, therapy.

The extended horopter: quantifying retinal correspondence across changes of 3D eye position.

Schreiber KM, Tweed DB, Schor CM

School of Optometry, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. kai@berkeley.edu

The theoretical horopter is an interesting qualitative tool for conceptualizing binocular correspondence, but its quantitative applications have been limited because they have ignored ocular kinematics and vertical binocular sensory fusion. Here we extend the mathematical definition of the horopter to a full surface over visual space, and we use this extended horopter to quantify binocular alignment and visualize its dependence on eye position. We reproduce the deformation of the theoretical horopter into a spiral shape in tertiary gaze as first described by Helmholtz (1867). We also describe a new effect of ocular torsion, where the Vieth-Müller circle rotates out of the visual plane for symmetric vergence conditions in elevated or depressed gaze. We demonstrate how these deformations are reduced or abolished when the eyes follow the modification of Listing's law during convergence called L2, which enlarges the extended horopter and keeps its location and shape constant across gaze directions.

Published 21 February 2006 in J Vis, 6(1): 64-74.
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