Gaming to improve eyesight in cataract patients

At this week's meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Vancouver, McMaster University psychologist Daphne Maurer will report on how vision develops in individuals born with cataracts in both eyes. Although such persons have their vision "corrected" by surgery and contact lenses, Maurer's study shows that they experience specific visual processing deficiencies into adulthood. But the studies reveal good news as well. Some of these effects can be reversed if the individual follows a short program of video gaming. "After playing an action video game for just 40 hours over four weeks, the patients were better at seeing small print, the direction of moving dots, and the identity of faces. Those improvements tell us that the adult brain is still plastic enough to be trained to overcome sensory deficiencies," says Maurer.