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[log in to unmask] wrote:

<<My mother who has had Parkinsons for 10 yrs. complains of vision
problems
and is concerned how much of it might have to do with the PD. She did
have
cataract surgery in one eye, but there seems doubt as to whether it held
its success.
She mentions "not being able to see well--says that things she looks at
with her left eye (the one with the cataract operation) seem diagonally
distorted and that her right eye is blurry.  Of course the right eye
still
has a cataract
carrying lens in it. Anyway she also reports that these conditions seem
related to the PD.  They change with her condition and she feels
muscular
"pulling" around her eyes..."
She is getting ready to start all over with an eye exam but wonders if
others have had problems seeing; I think she wants to feel prepared for
discussing it with an eye doctor also.
Thanks in advance if anyone has any insights here!>>

you want insights about vision. is there a pun here?

there are many indications that peripheral vision is affected. including
the very rapid (unscious-maybe extremely rapidly processed information
handling compared to normal neural signalling speeds); this may be
relevant to   the frezing in dorways and other phenomena that are
affected by blue lens over the peripheral vision area. The dopamine may
over-sensitize these motion detector neural circuits.

There may also be some potential that tremor of the head or even motion
of the eyes can trigger the eye motion detectors when reading - if the
hand holding the book is moving - the brain gets a signal that distorts
the normal eyes ability to present the normal optical-nerve data in the
formats expected.  the eye does not see - it registers shapes, angles,
colors, various other characteristics of light reaching the retinal
parts. these signals and characteristics are interpreted via many neural
networks into our visualization of letters, words, symbols picture parts
et cetera in complicated ways.

Often the PD patient is not found to have optician-measurable defects.
the muscles of the eyes are also affected.  the normal eye to eye
synchronization of movements across lines and other processes in the way
the eye gets binocular information to both sides of the brain and adds
these to perceive depth is not normal with PD on one side of the brain
than the other.

I doubt that I have helped much except to say that seeing is very much
more than a camera operation. The opthalmologist can perhaps help if
experienced and specializing  that includes dealing with numerous PD
patients.  The eye exam results should be checked a week later before
committing to new glasses.  there are some indications that the vision
changes rather randomly and rapidly.

My left eye functions well only over a 18 or 20 inch distance to several
hundred yards. My right eye is "good" from 5" sometimes to 20" or so --
thereforre, when I read I am usually only using the right eye. this may
be a lucky chance that makes it easier for me than the many who wear a
patch - or prism in one lens.  Eye strain does occur - double vision -
tetral , etc. I see many crescents when looking at the crescent moon
without glasses.

Then, there is the whole imaging and hallucinating effects on dreaming
and such things which occur - I will stop with this here.
--
ron      1936, dz PD 1984  Ridgecrest, California
Ronald F. Vetter <[log in to unmask]>
http://www.ridgecrest.ca.us/~rfvetter