Enhancing peripheral scene recognition through spatial frequency training: Behavioral evidence from macular...

Macular degeneration (MD) causes central vision loss and leads to long-term reorganization of visual functions. Central vision loss in MD severely reduces access to high spatial frequencies (HSF) that convey fine visual details, while low spatial frequencies (LSF) remain relatively accessible through peripheral vision and may support compensatory processing. This study investigated whether repeated training in categorizing filtered scenes improves peripheral scene recognition by enhancing spatial frequency processing. Ten MD patients and ten age- and gender-matched controls performed a scene categorization task (indoor vs. outdoor) using LSF or HSF images. Both groups completed a 12-session training protocol: patients performed the task at their preferred retinal location (PRL), and controls fixated with their fovea and viewed stimuli through an individualized artificial scotoma matched to their paired patient. Before training, MD patients showed a marked deficit for HSF scenes compared to controls, and a milder deficit for LSF scenes. After training, patients exhibited a significant improvement in categorizing LSF scenes, and an improvement specifically limited to HSF outdoor scenes, suggesting enhanced use of preserved peripheral information and partial compensation for the HSF deficit. Older controls also showed reduced performance for HSF scenes in peripheral vision, and similarly benefited from training. These results highlight the potential of perceptual training to enhance peripheral visual processing in MD patients, particularly by leveraging coarse visual cues. They support the idea that such protocols may be beneficial not only for visual rehabilitation in MD but also for preserving visual-cognitive functions in normal aging.