Visual Functional Limitation in Amblyopia: A Review

Amblyopia is a unilateral or bilateral reduction in visual acuity in absence of any pathological causes. It results in limitations of various visual functions including visual acuity that are essential for performing daily living activities. In this study, we conducted a comprehensive review of affected visual functions in amblyopia through a Pubmed search with an extensive search strategy. Seventeen research articles were selected out of 420 possible research articles and included in the study. Besides visual acuity, other visual functions such as contrast sensitivity, fixation stability, accommodative functions, visuomotor behavior, binocularity, stereopsis, and visual attention were found to be significantly affected in amblyopia. Interestingly, the visual functions corresponding to the "normal eye" of the amblyopic patients were also found to be significantly affected in all forms of amblyopia.