Research Expertise and Interest

stereopsis, optometry, vision science, binocular vision, ocular motility, strabismus, accommodation, presbyopia

Research Description

The central theme of Clifton Schor's research activities is motor-sensory properties of binocular vision. Oculomotor studies are of accommodation, vergence, and yoked versional eye movements. Studies of accommodation investigate its stimulus (contrast increment thresholds and odd-error cues such as looming) as well as adaptive responses of tonic accommodation to lenses. Studies of vergence eye movements also investigate its stimulus (features of the luminance distribution used to encode disparity and interactions between depth stimuli to vergence) and tonic vergence adaptation. The organization of mutual cross-coupling interactions between accommodation and vergence are also under investigation. Recently his research group has begun an investigation of adaptability of the yoking between versional eye movements (Hering’s Law) in response to aniseikonia. Sensory studies of binocular vision are of stereopsis, binocular rivalry, and depth cue interactions.

Studies of stereopsis investigate depth hyperacuities (vernier offset, gap resolution, and thickness discrimination), the spatial features in the luminance distribution used to compute disparity, and contrast effects in the disparity domain (proportion of correlation). Investigations of binocular inhibitory interactions include spatial interactions in binocular orientation rivalry and suppression of anisometropic blur.

Finally, they are investigating non-linear interactions of depth cues such as looming and dynamic disparity in suprathreshold depth perception.

Unique aspects of the lab include the SRI eye tracker-optometer apparatus, modeling of binocular motor control, and unique studies of sensory motor interaction.