Significant Age-Related Visual Declines but Preserved Binocular Summation of Contrast Sensitivity and Visual Acuity Across Adulthood.

ABSTRACT:

Purpose

Binocular summation refers to the enhanced visual performance when using two eyes instead of one. Although well established in young adults, how binocular summation and its underlying mechanisms change with normal aging remains unclear. This study aimed to characterize age-related changes in binocular summation for contrast sensitivity (CS) and high-contrast visual acuity (VA) across adulthood and evaluate the mechanisms underlying this integration.

Methods

We measured monocular and binocular CS and VA using the Pelli-Robson and ETDRS charts in 292 normally-sighted individuals aged 18 to 87, grouped into seven age bins. Binocular summation ratio (BSR) was computed as the ratio of binocular to better-eye sensitivity. To examine the underlying mechanisms, we fit and co

SUBMITTER: Penaloza B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12663878 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature