The next time you reach for your reading glasses, try this weird trick instead: staring at a flickering display. Researchers at Western University found that staring at a series of flickering images can help temporarily sharpen vision. This is due to the decreased activity from the visual pathway responsible for carrying less detailed visual cues from the eyes to the brain. Rapidly blinking images tire out the coarse-grained pathway in favour of another one, which is responsible for delivering more detailed information. Lead author Derek Arnold explains that reducing the input from the coarse-grained pathway effectively ‘de-blurs’ the image.
Authors:
Derek H. Arnold, Jeremy D. Williams, Natasha E. Phipps, and Melvyn A. Goodale
Corresponding author:
Derek H. Arnold, Perception Laboratory, School of Psychology, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia
Canadian contributor:
Melvyn A. Goodale, Brain and Mind Institute, Western University, London, ON N6A 5B8, Canada
Original paper published in PNAS on October 17, 2016
