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Updated: Aug 7, 2026
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Vision Training Methods for Sports Concussion Mitigation and Management
Published on: May 5, 2015
Central and Peripheral Attention in Virtual Reality: Test of Visual Efficiency for Concussion Detection
Jennifer C Reneker1, William A Pruett2, W Cody Pannell3
1Department of Population Health Science, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, Mississippi, USA.
Journal of Medical Extended Reality
|August 6, 2026
Summary
Individuals with concussion showed slower response times and fewer valid trials on a novel virtual reality peripheral vision test. This highlights functional vision deficits after concussion, crucial for rehabilitation program design.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Ophthalmology
- Sports Medicine
Background:
- Central and peripheral vision are crucial for navigating complex environments and ensuring safety.
- Vision assessment is increasingly important in concussion research for identifying biomarkers.
- Virtual reality (VR) offers novel methods for assessing visual function.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare peripheral vision test performance between individuals with and without acute concussion.
- To evaluate a novel VR head-mounted device (HMD) test for assessing peripheral vision deficits post-concussion.
Main Methods:
- A matched case-control study involving 13 participants with concussion and 26 without.
- Participants focused on a central object while identifying and selecting peripheral targets using hand controllers in a VR HMD.
- Performance metrics included valid trials (eyes on central object), correctness, and response time over 60 trials with changing stimuli and increasing peripheral distance.
Main Results:
- Individuals without concussion demonstrated a greater number of valid trials compared to those with concussion (moderate effect size).
- No significant differences in correctness of peripheral selection were found between groups.
- Response times were significantly slower in the second half of the test for the concussion group, with large effect sizes, particularly in trials at the furthest periphery.
Conclusions:
- The novel VR HMD test effectively identified functional peripheral vision processing deficits following concussion.
- Findings corroborate previous research and underscore the importance of targeting specific visual deficits in concussion rehabilitation programs.
