Virtual reality hemianopic scotomas induce eccentric fixation scanpath strategies to optimize high-level vision in healthy subjects

Normal Subjects (Ss) show a stairstep/overshoot saccadic strategy similar to hemianopic patients either when confronted with a virtual reality model of an artificial hemianopia using eye position feedback (H3-VRM), or when achieving eccentric fixation using 2ndVFB. Here gaze position is displayed simultaneously with the target and the subject learns either to superpose target and eye position feedback, or to position the gaze feedback target up to 9 deg off the target (eccentric fixation) which helps to keep the "blind side" in sight. Using this technique normal Ss confronted with H3-VRM as well as hemianopic patients minimize their deficit very fast and efficiently-faster than without 2ndVFB training.