Stereopsis and fixation disparity following prolonged monocular occlusion

The effects of 12 days of continuous monocular occlusion on the stereoscopic acuity and the magnitude of the fixation disparity associated with a given amount of prism-forced vergence were investigated in six adult subjects with normal binocular vision. After the period of occlusion, all six subjects were able to perceive stereopsis, although four of the six subjects demonstrated a slight but reversible elevation in stereothresholds. The general shape of the fixation disparity curve for a given individual was not altered by occlusion, but changes in the magnitude of the fixation disparity were observed for some subjects.