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The Distribution of Spatial Contrast in Manmade Environments Produces Regional Visual Form Deprivation.
William E Myles1,2, Sally A McFadden1,2,3, Quan V Hoang1,2,4
1Department of Ophthalmology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore.
Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science
|August 18, 2025
Summary
Manmade environments may cause myopia by creating regional environmental form deprivation (eFD) due to low contrast. Limiting eFD in artificial settings could help prevent myopia onset.
Area of Science:
- Ophthalmology
- Environmental Science
- Visual Neuroscience
Background:
- Myopia (short-sightedness) is more prevalent in children with less outdoor time or those in urban settings.
- Manmade environments may contribute to myopia through altered spatial contrast distribution, leading to environmental form deprivation (eFD).
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the prevalence and characteristics of regional environmental form deprivation (eFD) in various environments.
- To assess the potential link between eFD in manmade environments and myopia development.
Main Methods:
- Analyzed 590 images from natural, mixed-urban, urban, and indoor environments, dividing them into zones to calculate weighted contrast energy (CEw).
- Classified zones with low CEw as eFD, comparing their prevalence and spatial complexity across different environments.
- Examined the impact of gaze-limiting activities on peripheral eFD.
Main Results:
- Indoor environments showed the highest potential for eFD (29.5% of the visual field), significantly more than urban (15.2%), mixed-urban (6.7%), and natural (2.8%) settings.
- Indoor environments exhibited significantly lower contrast complexity, potentially leading to sustained eFD, especially in the visual periphery.
- Gaze-limiting tasks exacerbated peripheral eFD in manmade environments.
Conclusions:
- Manmade environments, particularly indoors, present widespread eFD due to featureless surfaces and low contrast.
- Sustained peripheral eFD from gaze-limiting activities in artificial settings may contribute to myopia development.
- Modifying contrast distribution in artificial environments could be a strategy to prevent myopia onset.
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