AzTrials
AzTrials

AmblyopiaNCT01223716

An Active Approach to Treat Amblyopia: Video Game Play

A study testing Perceptual learning, Video Game and Crossover (Occlusion therapy + Video Game) in people with Amblyopia, run by University of California, Berkeley at 1 site in United States.

Completed

Finished. The study has ended and is not enrolling. Results may be posted on the official record.

Official record
Search all trials

Trial summary

Amblyopia, a developmental abnormality that impairs spatial vision, is a major cause of vision loss, resulting in reduced visual acuity and reduced sensitivity to contrast. This study uses psychophysical measures to study neural plasticity in adults with amblyopia. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 5 to 75 yearsHealthy volunteers can take part
Conditions the study is for
Amblyopia
What is being tested?
Perceptual learning, Video Game and Crossover (Occlusion therapy + Video Game)
Could I receive a placebo?
No, everyone receives an active treatment
How many people
20 participants
Where
1 siteUnited States
Study dates
Dec 2004to Dec 2009
Phase
Interventional
Are there results?
None posted in the registry

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages 5 to 75 years
  • All sexes
  • Healthy volunteers accepted
  • Child, Adult, Older adult

Who may be able to join

  • Adults with amblyopia (Age >15 years)
  • Amblyopia: interocular visual acuity difference of at least 0.1 logMAR
  • All forms of amblyopia: Strabismic, anisometropic, refractive, deprivative, meridional amblyopia

Who cannot join

  • Any ocular pathological conditions (eg macula abnormalities, glaucoma), nystagmus

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

United States1 site
  • Minor Hall 486, School of Optometry, University of California, Berkeley

    Berkeley, California, 94720

Other trials in United States

About this study

Official title: Does Video Game Play Induce Plasticity in the Visual System of Adults With Amblyopia?

Amblyopia, a developmental abnormality that impairs spatial vision, is a major cause of vision loss, resulting in reduced visual acuity and reduced sensitivity to contrast. This study uses psychophysical measures to study neural plasticity in adults with amblyopia.

Read the detailed description

Amblyopia, a developmental abnormality that impairs spatial vision, is a major cause of vision loss, resulting in reduced visual acuity and reduced sensitivity to contrast. Our previous findings (see CITATIONS) show that the adult amblyopic brain is still plastic and malleable, suggesting that active approach is potential useful in treating amblyopia. The goal of this project is to assess the limits and mechanisms of neural plasticity in amblyopic spatial vision. This study uses psychophysical measures to study neural plasticity in adults with amblyopia. Research participants will be asked to play video games with the amblyopic eye for a period of time. A range of visual functions will be monitored during the course of treatment.

Conditions
Amblyopia
Being tested
Perceptual learning, Video Game, Crossover (Occlusion therapy + Video Game)
Keywords
amblyopia treatment, neural plasticity, perceptual learning, vision therapy, spatial vision, video games, occlusion therapy
Medical subject headings
Amblyopia

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • Perceptual learningBehavioural

    Also called vision therapy, vision training

    Research participants will be asked to practice a visual discrimination task (e.g. position acuity, contrast sensitivity, stereoacuity etc) in our laboratory for a period of time (2 hrs/day, 5 days/week).

  • Video GameBehavioural

    Also called vision therapy, vision training

    Research participants will be asked to play "off-the-shelf" video games in our laboratory for a period of time (2 hrs/day, 5 days/week).

  • Crossover (Occlusion therapy + Video Game)Behavioural

    Also called vision therapy, vision training

    Phase 1. Research participants will be required to cover the good eye during the day in order to push the brain to use the amblyopic eye (2 hrs/day, 5 days/week for 2-4 weeks).

    Phase 2. Research participants will be required to cover the good eye during the day in order to push the brain to use the amblyopic eye (2 hrs/day, 5 days/week for 2-4 weeks).

Study groups in NCT01223716
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
Perceptual learningExperimentalNot described
Receives: Behavioral: Perceptual learning
Video GameExperimentalNot described
Receives: Behavioral: Video Game
Occlusion TherapyExperimentalNot described
Receives: Behavioral: Crossover (Occlusion therapy + Video Game)

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. Amblyopic vision

    Improvement in amblyopic vision : visual acuity and stereoacuity

    Measured: 9 months

Secondary outcomes (2)
  1. Spatial vision

    Improvement in spatial vision (positional acuity and spatial attention)

    Measured: 9 months

  2. Temporal vision

    Improvement in temporal processing and temporal vision (attentional blink)

    Measured: 9 months

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted19 Oct 2010 (estimated)
  2. Study startDec 2004
  3. Primary completionDec 2009
  4. Study completionDec 2009

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Interventional
Phase
Phase N/A
Primary purpose
Basic science
Allocation
Randomised
Intervention model
Crossover
Masking
None (open label)
Enrolment
20 participants (actual)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT01223716
Sponsor's protocol ID
CPHS#2003-11-83
Other IDs
R01EY001728
Status last verified
May 2016
First submitted
18 Oct 2010
Last updated
17 May 2016
Results posted
No
Data monitoring committee
No
Individual data sharing
Undecided

Publications

  • Li RW, Provost A, Levi DM. Extended perceptual learning results in substantial recovery of positional acuity and visual acuity in juvenile amblyopia. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2007 Nov;48(11):5046-51. doi: 10.1167/iovs.07-0324.

    PubMed 17962456
  • Li RW, Young KG, Hoenig P, Levi DM. Perceptual learning improves visual performance in juvenile amblyopia. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2005 Sep;46(9):3161-8. doi: 10.1167/iovs.05-0286.

    PubMed 16123415
  • Li RW, Levi DM. Characterizing the mechanisms of improvement for position discrimination in adult amblyopia. J Vis. 2004 Jun 1;4(6):476-87. doi: 10.1167/4.6.7.

    PubMed 15330715
  • Chung ST, Li RW, Levi DM. Identification of contrast-defined letters benefits from perceptual learning in adults with amblyopia. Vision Res. 2006 Oct;46(22):3853-61. doi: 10.1016/j.visres.2006.06.014. Epub 2006 Aug 22.

    PubMed 16930666
  • Chung ST, Kumar G, Li RW, Levi DM. Characteristics of fixational eye movements in amblyopia: Limitations on fixation stability and acuity? Vision Res. 2015 Sep;114:87-99. doi: 10.1016/j.visres.2015.01.016. Epub 2015 Feb 7.

    PubMed 25668775
  • Li RW, Klein SA, Levi DM. Prolonged perceptual learning of positional acuity in adult amblyopia: perceptual template retuning dynamics. J Neurosci. 2008 Dec 24;28(52):14223-9. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4271-08.2008.

    PubMed 19109504
  • Chung ST, Li RW, Levi DM. Learning to identify near-threshold luminance-defined and contrast-defined letters in observers with amblyopia. Vision Res. 2008 Dec;48(27):2739-50. doi: 10.1016/j.visres.2008.09.009. Epub 2008 Oct 18.

    PubMed 18824189
  • Levi DM, Li RW. Improving the performance of the amblyopic visual system. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2009 Feb 12;364(1515):399-407. doi: 10.1098/rstb.2008.0203.

    PubMed 19008199
  • Levi DM, Li RW. Perceptual learning as a potential treatment for amblyopia: a mini-review. Vision Res. 2009 Oct;49(21):2535-49. doi: 10.1016/j.visres.2009.02.010. Epub 2009 Feb 27.

    PubMed 19250947
  • Li RW, Tran TT, Craven AP, Leung TW, Chat SW, Levi DM. Sharpening coarse-to-fine stereo vision by perceptual learning: asymmetric transfer across the spatial frequency spectrum. R Soc Open Sci. 2016 Jan 20;3(1):150523. doi: 10.1098/rsos.150523. eCollection 2016 Jan.

    PubMed 26909178
  • Li RW, Ngo CV, Levi DM. Relieving the attentional blink in the amblyopic brain with video games. Sci Rep. 2015 Feb 26;5:8483. doi: 10.1038/srep08483.

    PubMed 25715870
  • Li RW, Ngo C, Nguyen J, Levi DM. Video-game play induces plasticity in the visual system of adults with amblyopia. PLoS Biol. 2011 Aug;9(8):e1001135. doi: 10.1371/journal.pbio.1001135. Epub 2011 Aug 30.

    PubMed 21912514
  • Chung ST, Li RW, Levi DM. Learning to identify near-acuity letters, either with or without flankers, results in improved letter size and spacing limits in adults with amblyopia. PLoS One. 2012;7(4):e35829. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0035829. Epub 2012 Apr 30.

    PubMed 22558234

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A study testing Perceptual learning, Video Game and Crossover (Occlusion therapy + Video Game) in people with Amblyopia, run by University of California, Berkeley at 1 site in United States.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 3 inclusion and 1 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 17 May 2016. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

Are results available for this study?

The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

Amblyopic vision (time frame: 9 months). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?

On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT01223716, which also lists 13 linked publications.

Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 17 May 2016.

Free account

Log in to keep searching

You’ve used your 3 free searches. AzTrials is free: log in or create a free account to keep searching clinical trials and save the ones you want to follow.

Create a free accountLog in