Visual Perception and Psychophysics

Details

Title

Visual Perception and Psychophysics

Type

Stage Two

Module code

HPS261

Requirement

Compulsory

Module objective

By the end of this module the Clinical Scientist in HSST, with respect to the design and application of psychophysical tests, will be able to analyse, synthesise, evaluate and apply their knowledge, perform and adjust a range of technical procedures and clinical skills, and demonstrate the attitudes and behaviours necessary for the role of a Consultant Clinical Scientist.

Knowledge and understanding

By the end of this module the Clinical Scientist in HSST will analyse, synthesise, critically evaluate and apply their expert knowledge with respect to the design and application of appropriate psychophysical measurements in OVS discipline and clinical assessment. This will include expert understanding of:

• optics (including new developments, e.g. adaptive optics, single cone psychophysics);
• the limits of resolution;
• acuity measures:
  • basics (resolution acuity)
  • hyperacuity
  • interaction of optics (e.g. pupil sizes) and neural resolution
  • eccentricity
  • binocular summation
  • testing
  • typical diseases (e.g. AMD)
• contrast sensitivity:
  • basics
  • various measures (Michelson, Weber)
  • eccentricity
  • contrast adaptation
  • typical diseases (e.g. cataract)
  • testingsignal detection theory and measurement principles:
• constancies;
• colour vision theories:
  • 3 cone type + opponent colour theory are both right
  • univariance principle
  • colour mixing (additive, multiplicative, pigment mixing)
  • metamerics
  • adaption, afterimages
  • colour spaces
  • constancy
  • naming, culture
  • testing per condition
• depth perception:
  • depth cues
  • parallax
  • stereo vision
  • testing
  • constancy
• motion perception:
  • basics
  • species differences (in humans, no retinal motion detectors)
  • sotion adaptation
  • biologic motion
• texture segregation;
• eye movements and their influence on perception;
• entoptic phenomena;
• Gestalt phenomena;
• illusions;
• signal detection theory and measurement principles:
  • thresholdss;
  • bias, criterion, forced choice.

Technical and clinical skills

By the end of this module the Clinical Scientist in HSST, with respect to ophthalmic and visual pathway disorders, will be able to demonstrate a critical understanding of current research and its application to the performance and mastery of the following technical skills:

• select the appropriate test of choice;
• perform psychophysical tests;
• design and develop new tests, changing the method of measurement according to task, need and clinical condition.

By the end of this module the Clinical Scientist in HSST will be expected to critically reflect and apply in practice a range of clinical and communication skills to advise and communicate effectively with patients, relevant clinicians, patients and the public, and other healthcare professionals, and will:

• take a comprehensive history, understanding the nature of the visual complaint and expressing this in terms of reference to psychophysics and perception;
• perform analysis of all psychometric data, integrating with objective and imaging data.
• interpret these results taking into account history and clinical examination;
• produce a clear and informative report with recommendations for further diagnostics and/or treatments;
• communicate, where appropriate, the implications of findings with patients and families;
• formulate a plan for further investigation and management in collaboration with medical colleagues, including visual aids or restriction of driving, strategies to compensate for dorsal or ventral stream processing difficulties or agnosias;
• reflect on the challenges of applying research to practice in relation to these areas of practice and suggest improvements, building on a critique of available evidence;
• take a holistic approach to diagnosis and make psychometric measures that can provide a perceptual expression of a patient’s clinical problem;
• strive to adapt current, and develop novel, tests to best describe and capture a patient’s visual impairment;produce a clear and informative report with recommendations for further diagnostics and/or treatments;
• reflect on the impact these perceptual disturbances have on everyday quality of life and the strategies that may be used to circumvent them.