Characteristics of Ocular Following Responses (OFRs) in Children with Stereodeficiencies

Ocular following responses (OFRs) are reflexive eye movements triggered by sudden motion of textured patterns in the visual field. OFRs have been extensively studied in both humans and non-human primates and are mediated by cortical neurons sensitive to disparity. Recent studies have demonstrated that OFRs can be recorded non-invasively using a video-based eye tracker. We examined the characteristics of OFRs in children with stereodeficiencies. Eight children between 5 and 12 years old with stereodeficiency associated with either unilateral refractive amblyopia or strabismic amblyopia were enrolled. To provide comparison we also included eight age/sex matched healthy children. We found that the amplitude of the OFRs observed in children with stereodeficiencies is similar to amplitudes of children with typical stereo vision and those documented also in healthy adults. By confirming the existence of the reflex in children with stereodeficiencies, this study lays the groundwork for further exploration of how stimulus interocular correlation affects OFRs in children.