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Updated: Jun 27, 2026
A Gaze-Contingent Display Framework for Perceptual Learning Research with Simulated Central Vision Loss
Published on: April 11, 2025
Impact of simulated visual impairment on the cognitive test performance of young adults
Joanne M Wood1, Alex Chaparro, Kaarin J Anstey
1School of Optometry and Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia. j.wood@qut.edu.au
Aims:
This study investigated the effect of simulated visual impairment on the speed and accuracy of performance on a series of commonly used cognitive tests.
Methods:
Cognitive performance was assessed for 30 young, visually normal subjects (M = 22.0 +/- 3.1 years) using the Digit Symbol Substitution Test (DSST), Trail Making Test (TMT) A and B and the Stroop Colour Word Test under three visual conditions: normal vision and two levels of visually degrading filters (Vistech) administered in a random order. Distance visual acuity and contrast sensitivity were also assessed for each filter condition.
Results:
The visual filters, which degraded contrast sensitivity to a greater extent than visual acuity, significantly increased the time to complete (p <.05), but not the number of errors made, on the DSST and the TMT A and B and affected only some components of the Stroop test.
Conclusions:
Reduced contrast sensitivity had a marked effect on the speed but not the accuracy of performance on commonly used cognitive tests, even in young individuals; the implications of these findings are discussed.
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