Exploring the use of smartphone applications during navigation-based tasks for individuals who are blind or who have low vision: future directions and priorities.

Purpose: Mainstream smartphone applications are increasingly replacing the use of traditional visual aids to facilitate independent travel for people with blindness or low vision. However, little is known about which navigation apps are being used, the factors underpinning these decisions and why apps are not used in certain contexts. The goal of this study was to explore the navigation-based apps used by individuals who are blind or who have low vision, the factors influencing these decisions, and perceptions about gaps to address future needs in navigation.

International prevalence of tactile map usage and its impact on navigational independence and well-being of people with visual impairments.

For people with visual impairments (PVI), understanding space is crucial for independence and tactile maps are useful tools to gain spatial information and improve orientation. However, their popularity and impacts in the PVI population are not yet fully understood. Thus, this study aims to determine the prevalence of tactile map usage and their effects on independent travel and well-being internationally.

3D printing as assistive technology for individuals with deafblindness: perspectives of rehabilitation professionals.

There is a growing body of evidence on practical applications of three-dimensional (3D) printing to support the rehabilitation of individuals with sensory impairments. However, applications in the field of deafblindness, or the combination of vision and hearing impairment, remain scarce. Therefore, the present study aimed to explore actual and potential applications of 3D printing in deafblindness rehabilitation from the perspective of rehabilitation professionals in two focus group discussions that involved orientation and mobility specialists, vision rehabilitation specialists, audiologists, and braille technicians.

Cognitive map formation in the blind is enhanced by three-dimensional tactile information.

For blind individuals, tactile maps are useful tools to form cognitive maps through touch. However, they still experience challenges in cognitive map formation and independent navigation. Three-dimensional (3D) tactile information is thus increasingly being considered to convey enriched spatial information, but it remains unclear if it can facilitate cognitive map formation compared to traditional two-dimensional (2D) tactile information.

Brain structural changes in blindness: a systematic review and an anatomical likelihood estimation (ALE) meta-analysis.

In recent decades, numerous structural brain imaging studies investigated purported morphometric changes in early (EB) and late onset blindness (LB). The results of these studies have not yielded very consistent results, neither with respect to the type, nor to the anatomical locations of the brain morphometric alterations. To better characterize the effects of blindness on brain morphometry, we performed a systematic review and an Anatomical-Likelihood-Estimation (ALE) coordinate-based-meta-analysis of 65 eligible studies on brain structural changes in EB and LB, including 890 EB, 466 LB and 1257 sighted controls.

Neural substrates of spatial processing and navigation in blindness: An activation likelihood estimation meta-analysis.

Even though vision is considered the best suited sensory modality to acquire spatial information, blind individuals can form spatial representations to navigate and orient themselves efficiently in space. Consequently, many studies support the of spatial representations since sensory modalities other than vision contribute to the formation of spatial representations, independently of visual experience and imagery. However, given the high variability in abilities and deficits observed in blind populations, a clear consensus about the neural representations of space has yet to be established.

The Retina: A Window into the Brain.

In the course of evolution, animals have obtained the capacity to perceive and encode their environment via the development of sensory systems such as touch, olfaction, audition, and vision [...

The Vertical and Horizontal Pathways in the Monkey Retina Are Modulated by Typical and Atypical Cannabinoid Receptors.

The endocannabinoid (eCB) system has been found in all visual parts of the central ner-vous system and plays a role in the processing of visual information in many species, including monkeys and humans. Using anatomical methods, cannabinoid receptors are present in the monkey retina, particularly in the vertical glutamatergic pathway, and also in the horizontal GABAergic pathway. Modulating the eCB system regulates normal retinal function as demonstrated by electrophysiological recordings.

The Inhibition of the Degrading Enzyme Fatty Acid Amide Hydrolase Alters the Activity of the Cone System in the Vervet Monkey Retina.

Recent studies using full-field electroretinography (ffERG) that triggers a non-specific mass response generated by several retinal sources have attributed an important role for cannabinoid receptors in mediating vision in primates. Specific cone-mediated responses evoked through the photopic flicker ERG appear to be a better way to validate the assumption that endogenous cannabinoids modulate the cone pathway, since FAAH is mainly expressed in the vervet monkey cone photoreceptors. The aim of this study is two-fold: (1) to use the photopic flicker ERG to target the cone pathway specifically, and (2) use URB597 as a selective inhibitor of the endocannabinoid degrading enzyme Fatty Acid Amide Hydrolase (FAAH) to enhance the levels of fatty acid amides, particularly anandamide.

Use of three-dimensional printing as a rehabilitation tool for individuals with deafblindness or vision impairment: a scoping review protocol.

Objective: This scoping review aims to synthesize evidence on the practices involving additive manufacturing, also known as three-dimensional printing, as a rehabilitation tool to assist individuals with deafblindness or vision impairment, and to identify which International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health domains of functioning can be improved by its use. The goal is to inform health care professionals and family caregivers on how additive manufacturing may enhance the quality of life of people with deafblindness or vision impairment.

Introduction: Deafblindness and vision impairment impact many life domains, such as access to information, communication, and mobility.

Post-saccadic changes disrupt attended pre-saccadic object memory.

Trans-saccadic memory consists of keeping track of objects' locations and features across saccades; pre-saccadic information is remembered and compared with post-saccadic information. It has been shown to have limited resources and involve attention with respect to the selection of objects and features. In support, a previous study showed that recognition of distinct post-saccadic objects in the visual scene is impaired when pre-saccadic objects are relevant and thus already encoded in memory (Poth, Herwig, Schneider, 2015).

Blindness and the Reliability of Downwards Sensors to Avoid Obstacles: A Study with the EyeCane.

Vision loss has dramatic repercussions on the quality of life of affected people, particularly with respect to their orientation and mobility. Many devices are available to help blind people to navigate in their environment. The EyeCane is a recently developed electronic travel aid (ETA) that is inexpensive and easy to use, allowing for the detection of obstacles lying ahead within a 2 m range.

Spatial navigation with horizontally spatialized sounds in early and late blind individuals.

Blind individuals often report difficulties to navigate and to detect objects placed outside their peri-personal space. Although classical sensory substitution devices could be helpful in this respect, these devices often give a complex signal which requires intensive training to analyze. New devices that provide a less complex output signal are therefore needed.

Brain-Machine Interfaces to Assist the Blind.

The loss or absence of vision is probably one of the most incapacitating events that can befall a human being. The importance of vision for humans is also reflected in brain anatomy as approximately one third of the human brain is devoted to vision. It is therefore unsurprising that throughout history many attempts have been undertaken to develop devices aiming at substituting for a missing visual capacity.