Word scanning in native and non-native languages: insights into reading with declined accommodation

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Cognitive Psychology
• Linguistics

Background:

• Accommodation, the eye's ability to change focus, declines with age, a condition known as presbyopia.
• Reading performance is influenced by visual factors like accommodation, viewing distance, and text contrast.
• The role of accommodation in reading performance across different languages, particularly native versus non-native, requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate how declining accommodation affects reading performance in both native and non-native languages.
• To compare reading performance between presbyopes (age-related farsightedness) and non-presbyopes.
• To determine if language proficiency moderates the impact of accommodation decline on reading.

Main Methods:

• Participants included 18 native Japanese speakers (8 presbyopes, 10 non-presbyopes).
• Reading tasks involved scanning and identifying targets in two-line texts (Japanese/English) at varying distances (35cm/70cm) and contrasts (18%/100%).
• Reading performance was measured by speed and accuracy in identifying non-word targets.

Main Results:

• Presbyopes showed poorer reading performance than non-presbyopes at closer viewing distances, regardless of language.
• This performance deficit in presbyopes was more pronounced when reading in a non-native language compared to their native language.
• Differences were minimal for high-contrast text at longer distances, highlighting the specific impact of accommodation.

Conclusions:

• Accommodation decline significantly impairs reading performance, particularly in non-native languages.
• The language of the reading material interacts with the effects of accommodation decline.
• While other factors contribute, accommodation plays a critical role in reading efficiency, especially for individuals with presbyopia.