Visual acuity in esotropic cats following occlusion of the non-deviating eye

The present study examined the possibility that strabismic amblyopia may be explained in terms of binocular competition. This was done by measuring visual acuity in strabismic kittens whose deviating eye was placed at an advantage over the other. Four groups of kittens were studied: Normal/Normal (N/N); Lid-sutured/Normal (LS/N); Strabismic/Normal (S/N); Strabismic/Lid-sutured (S/LS). In conditions 2-4 kittens underwent lateral rectus section and/or unilateral lid suture around the time of natural eye opening. Visual acuity measurements were made using the jumping stand technique and the following results were obtained: all S/N kittens showed an acuity deficit in the strabismic eye; each S/LS kitten had a better acuity in the deviating eye than any S/N kitten; the acuity of the LS/S kittens was slightly below that of the N/N kittens or the normal eye of the LS/N kittens. These data suggest that binocular competition can account for essentially all of the strabismic amblyopia observed in kittens.