Assessing the contrast sensitivity function in myopic parafovea: A quick contrast sensitivity functions study

Zixuan Xu; Yijing Zhuang; Zhipeng Chen; Fang Hou; Lily Y L Chan; Lei Feng; Qingqing Ye; Yunsi He; Yusong Zhou; Yu Jia; Junpeng Yuan; Zhong-Lin Lu; Jinrong Li

doi:10.3389/fnins.2022.971009

Assessing the contrast sensitivity function in myopic parafovea: A quick contrast sensitivity functions study

Front Neurosci. 2022 Oct 6:16:971009. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2022.971009. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Zixuan Xu¹, Yijing Zhuang¹, Zhipeng Chen¹, Fang Hou², Lily Y L Chan³, Lei Feng¹, Qingqing Ye¹, Yunsi He¹, Yusong Zhou¹, Yu Jia¹, Junpeng Yuan¹, Zhong-Lin Lu^{4

5

6}, Jinrong Li¹

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.
² School of Ophthalmology and Optometry and Eye Hospital, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, China.
³ School of Optometry, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, China.
⁴ Division of Arts and Sciences, New York University (NYU) Shanghai, Shanghai, China.
⁵ Center for Neural Science and Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY, United States.
⁶ New York University-East China Normal University (NYU-ECNU) Institute of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Shanghai, China.

Abstract

Purpose: Compare peripheral contrast sensitivity functions (CSF) between myopes and emmetropes to reveal potential myogenic risks during emmetropization.

Materials and methods: This observational, cross-sectional, non-consecutive case study included data from 19 myopes (23.42 ± 4.03 years old) and 12 emmetropes (22.93 ± 2.91 years old) who underwent central and peripheral quick CSF (qCSF) measurements. Summary CSF metrics including the cut-off spatial frequency (cut-off SF), area under log CSF (AULCSF), low-, intermediate-, and high-spatial-frequency AULCSFs (l-, i-, and h-SF AULCSFs), and log CS at 19 SFs in the fovea and 15 peripheral locations (superior, inferior, temporal, and nasal quadrants at 6, 12, 18, and 24° eccentricities, excluding the physiological scotoma at 18°) were analyzed with 3-way and 4-way between-subjects analysis of variance (ANOVA) (α = 0.05).

Results: Three-way ANOVA showed that myopes had significantly increased AULCSF at 6° (mean difference, 0.08; 95% CI, 0.02-0.13; P = 0.007) and 12° (mean difference, 0.09; 95% CI, 0.03-0.14; P = 0.003). Log CS at all 19 SFs were higher in the myopia group compared to the normal group (mean differencesuperior, 0.02; 95% CI, 0.01-0.20; P = 0.02 and mean differenceinferior, 0.11; 95% CI, 0.02-0.21; P = 0.01) at 12°. The h-SF AULCSF at 6° (mean differenceinferior, 1.27; 95% CI, 0.32-2.22; P = 0.009) and i-SF AULCSF at 12° (mean differencesuperior, 5.31; 95% CI, 4.35-6.27; P < 0.001; mean differenceinferior, 1.14; 95% CI, 0.19-2.10; P = 0.02) were higher in myopia vs. normal group.

Conclusion: We found myopia increased contrast sensitivity in superior and inferior visual field locations at 6° parafoveal and 12° perifoveal regions of the retina. The observation of increased contrast sensitivities within the macula visual field in myopia might provide important insights for myopia control during emmetropization.

Keywords: contrast sensitivity function (CSF); myopia; parafovea; peripheral visual field; quick CSF.