Reading with a simulated central scotoma

Abstract

Normal subjects were asked to read a Japanese text with a visual mask patch (simulated central scotoma) which obliterated foveal visual field and moved in asynchrony with eye during reading. When foveal visual field was masked horizontally with 4-8 character spaces reading became difficult. The results of a simulated central scotoma experiment indicate the importance of foveal and parafoveal vision during Japanese text reading.<>