Eye movements in reading with hemianopic field defects: the significance of clinical parameters

Abstract

Patients with right HFD are more disabled. The side of the HFD, its distance to the visual field center and the time since onset are significant parameters for reading performance. The analysis of reading parameters in correlation with clinical parameters provides valuable information about the necessary perceptual field and learning effects and is helpful in rehabilitation.

Parafoveal vision impairments and their influence on reading performance and self-evaluated reading abilities

“…Moreover, different factors (e.g., patient selection, stop criterion, etc.) were not necessarily comparable between the study by Trauzettel-Klosinski [29] and the present one.…”

“…LH, RH, and LH+N subjects did not differ in "objective" reading parameters (reading acuity and speed). The literature concerning reading difficulties in subjects with visual field loss states that RH-subjects are more impaired in reading than LH-subjects [1,8,29,33]. In the present study, RH-subjects showed indeed somewhat slower reading speed than LH-subjects, but these differences were not significant.…”

“…Trauzettel-Klosinski and Brendler [29] reported values for reading speed for a group of 40 matched subjects with LH and RH. Reading speed was tested with a short story consisting of meaningful sentences with simple vocabulary.…”

“…A reading window smaller than 5°impairs proper fluent reading in subjects with right-sided hemianopia (RH) and complicates the localization of the beginning of the new text line in subjects with left-sided hemianopia (LH) [14,15,29,30]. Several studies [e.g., Trauzettel-Klosinski and Brendler (n= 40); TrauzettelKlosinski and Reinhard (n=10)] showed that impairments in reading performance in subjects with RH or LH were related to the amount of macular sparing [29,30]. Subjects with 5°sparing showed better reading results than subjects with sparing of 2.5°to 3º or even less [30].…”

Visuelles Rehabilitationstraining bei homonymen Gesichtsfeldausfällen

“…Bei einer Hemianopsie nach links besteht das Problem für den Patienten darin, den Anfang der neuen Zeile zu finden. Er braucht dazu mehrere Rückwärtssakkaden[10].HilfsmittelHilfreich ist, wenn die Orientierung auf der Zeile durch visuelle oder taktile Hilfen unterstützt wird, z. B. durch den Zeigefinger am Zeilenanfang oder durch ein Lineal zum Auffinden des Beginns der neuen Linie bei linksseitigen Hemianopsien.…”