This is because the brain maintains significant neuroplacticity, even in older adults. Neuroplacticity is the reason that the vision training approaches used for decades in vision therapy by behavioural and developmental optometrists help so many patients.
A new study published in Psychological Science supports the use of behavioral visual training to improve sight in older adults. This has important implications for reducing falls and car accidents that are associated with loss of depth perception and contrast sensitivity.
The researchers used a perceptual-learning task to improve age-related declines in contrast sensitivity. Older and younger adults were trained over 7 days using a forced-choice orientation-discrimination task with stimuli that varied in contrast with multiple levels of additive noise. The study's authors found that older adults performed as well after training as did college-age younger adults prior to training. In addition, the vision training therapy improved far acuity in younger adults and in near acuity in older adults. The researchers concluded that behavioral interventions can greatly improve visual performance for older adults.
Source:
Psychological Science March 6, 2015
Improving Vision Among Older Adults Behavioral Training to Improve Sight
Denton J. DeLoss, Takeo Watanabe, George J. Anderse
