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Sue Barry is a neuroscientist at Mount Holyoke College. She's also the author of the newly released book Fixing My Gaze, which tells the story of how Barry, at the age of 48, finally learned to see in 3-D. Mind Matters editor Jonah Lehrer chats with Barry about what a flat world looks like and what her own experience can teach us about brain plasticity and education.
LEHRER: You begin your new book, Fixing My Gaze, by describing the moment you realized that you lacked stereoscopic vision, which underlies the ability to see in 3-D. Could you describe that moment?
BARRY: I was sitting in my college neurobiology class, somewhat bored and distracted, when the professor began to describe experiments done on wall-eyed and cross-eyed cats. He mentioned that vision in these cats had not developed normally and that these animals probably lacked stereovision or the ability to see in 3-D. What's more, these animals could never gain stereovision because this skill developed only during a "critical period" in early life. What was true for cats was also thought to be true for people.
The professor's words jerked me right out of my daydream. I realized that I was like the cats in the scientists' experiments, since I had been cross-eyed since early infancy. Three childhood surgeries made my eyes look normal so I assumed that I saw normally, as well. Yet, I had just learned in class that I lacked a fundamental way of seeing.
After class, I went straight to the college library and read up on stereovision. I searched out and tried every stereovision test I could find and flunked them all. This is how I learned that I was stereoblind.
LEHRER: How did you regain 3-D vision at the age of 48?
BARRY: Even though I had three childhood surgeries to "correct" my crossed eyes, I still did not see in 3-D. After the operations, my eyes looked cosmetically straight but they were still slightly misaligned. The conflicting input coming into my brain from my crossed eyes not only prevented stereovision but also gave me an unstable gaze. I rapidly switched my view between my two misaligned eyes so that my view of the world was jittery especially when I looked in the distance.
In my late forties, I consulted a developmental optometrist who prescribed for me a program of optometric vision therapy designed to stabilize my gaze. Since I was cross-eyed, I looked at visual targets with one eye and turned in the other. The vision therapy procedures provided me with the feedback I needed to know where in space each eye was looking. With this feedback, I learned to aim the two eyes at the same location in space at the same time and, to my astonishment, began to see in 3D. Further therapy taught me how to integrate my new 3D views with my former ways of judging depth and distance.
LEHRER: What was it like to see the world in 3-D? Could you describe your first reactions?
BARRY: Many people tell me that the world looks about the same to them whether they look with one eye or with two. They don't think stereovision is all that important. What they don't realize is that their brain is using a lifetime of past visual experiences to fill in the missing stereo information. Seeing in 3-D provides a fundamentally different way of seeing and interpreting the world than seeing with one eye. When I began to see in stereo, it came as an enormous surprise and a great gift.
For the first time, I could see the volumes of space between different tree branches, and I liked immersing myself in those inviting pockets of space. As I walk about, leaves, pine needles, and flowers, - even light fixtures and ceiling pipes - seem to float on a medium more substantial than air. Snow no longer appears to fall in one plane slightly in front of me. Now, the snowflakes envelope me, floating by in layers and layers of depth. It's been seven years since I gained stereovision, but ordinary views like these still fill me with a deep sense of wonder and joy.
LEHRER: Scientists used to assume that the adult brain was a relatively fixed organ. What can your experience teach us about the plasticity of the brain?
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33 Comments
Add CommentDr. Susan Barry's experiences are not isolated. Everyday we improve the vision function of children and adults using optometric vision therapy. There are National Institute of Health National Eye Institute clinical trials to support this therapy as being effective. (Randomized clinical trial of treatments for symptomatic convergence insufficiency in children. Convergence Insufficiency Treatment Trial Study Group.Arch Ophthalmol. 2008 Oct;126(10):1336-49.).
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisDominick M. Maino, OD, MEd, FAAO, FCOVD-A
Professor, Pediatrics/Binocular Vision
Illinois Eye Institute/Illinois College of Optometry
dmaino@ico.edu
For additional information on optometric vision therapy go to http://www.covd.org. For frequently updated information on children's vision go to http://www.MainosMemos.blogspot.com
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisDominick M. Maino, OD, MEd, FAAO, FCOVD-A
Professor, Pediatrics/Binocular Vision
Illinois Eye Institute/Illinois College of Optometry
dmaino@ico.edu
Wow! I had amblioplya and cross-eyes (and the same surgery), as a 5-yr old. However, I am still very-strongly left eye dominant. Nevertheless, I am fascinated both by the neurological implications of this, as well as the idea of gaining 3-D vision. I can state for a fact that one disadvantage of 2-D vision is that playing the outfield and estimating a baseball's trajectory is very tough, so I learned to love the infield. A ball coming straight at you in a flat trajectory is easier to get to.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI look forward to reading the book - checking out the website!
Glad I found your report. I just wrote a book about our brain and eyes www.ronfritts.com And in generic terms, my object is to teach people that the eye brain relationship can be controlled and consciously utilized to enhane life in general. Your particular problem reinforces my theory. My book is basicall and Art oriented thesis but is intended to expose the lack of creative thinking in general.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWrote my comment so quickly that I did not edit. Should read: ...enhance life in general.......My book is basic and Art oriented and is intended to expose the lack of........
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThanks.....
I can vouch for the statements made by Dr. Susan Barry's experience. I had an intermittent strabismus myself with double vision 50 percent of the time and now enjoy full binocular vision and virtually no double vision. Vision therapy gave me the physical skills to enhance my brain function. I then integrated other disciplines to complete the picture. More information - http://www.covd.org http://www.eyecode.info
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIt is interesting to read how a scientist is able to change a long standing problem thought to be unchangeable since she was far past the "critical period" for change. In describing adult brain plasticity and the use of optometric vision therapy, Sue Barry is able to show that it is never too late for people with this severe problem to seek help. I hope the medical community takes note. I look forward to reading Dr. Barry's book.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisOptometrists have known for many years that the visual system is plastic in adults. Interesting that the medical community is still not convinced, in general, that vision therapy does indeed work.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAs an optometry student currently interning at a vision therapy office, I am intrigued by the effects of therapy. It is amazing that we can teach people, no matter their age, to use their visual systems in more effective and productive ways.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisSue Barry gives a great insight into what it feels like to not have stereo vision and then to acquire it. Her studies and information she provides about the brain gives validation to vision therapy.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisLike Sue Barry -- thanks to optometric vision therapy with a developmental optometrist -- I gained stereovision (two-eyed depth perception) as an adult, at 33 years of age. Prior to vision therapy, I also alternated between using one eye or the other. In my case, I used one eye for near viewing and the other eye for distance viewing.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI had been told as a child that my eyes worked independently and that I lacked depth perception. Yet, I was shocked when I finally looked into some sort of stereovision testing instrument and received clear visual feedback on what my two eyes were doing. My eyes were definitely NOT aiming at the same place or working together as a team! To this day, I can vividly recall that "cockeyed" test image. I thought I was a wreck!
At the time, I could not possibly conceive of what I might see if my two eyes did work together as a coordinated team. And, as Ms. Barry explained, a person with normal vision can not experience what the stereoblind person sees by simply closing one eye. When the normally-sighted person closes one eye, their brain draws on a lifetime of stored 3D vision data.
In this interview, Sue gives a lucid description of how optometric vision therapy works...it permanently changes the visual system (brain, eyes, and body) by giving the patient challenging and novel stimuli along with useful and rewarding feedback. The developmental optometrist and vision therapist help with motivation, too. But, as Sue Barry explained, "an adult brain changes largely in response to stimuli that are behaviorally relevant." So, the adult who undertakes optometric vision therapy must be looking for "a better way to negotiate the world." In other words, BYOM - Bring Your Own Motivation. ;-)
Now -- Happy Ending -- I live, move, and see in a 3D world. I can drive a car without terrifying my passengers. I can judge distances and even catch balls (or car keys thrown by playful friends). I can chop vegetables without cutting my fingertips. I am no longer constantly bumping into things or knocking objects over. I And, so important to me, I can now make normal eye contact and see how close or far another person is. People no longer look like flat cardboard cut-outs, separate from me, standing over there somewhere!?
Life is so much richer in 3D and I am thankful that Sue Barry is telling people so. Read her book Fixing My Gaze!
We are not alone! Read hundreds of people's stories about life-changing vision therapy at http://www.visiontherapystories.org.
Like Sue Barry -- thanks to optometric vision therapy with a developmental optometrist -- I gained stereovision (two-eyed depth perception) as an adult, at 33 years of age. Prior to vision therapy, I also alternated between using one eye or the other. In my case, I used one eye for near viewing and the other eye for distance viewing.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI had been told as a child that my eyes worked independently and that I lacked depth perception. Yet, I was shocked when I finally looked into some sort of stereovision testing instrument and received clear visual feedback on what my two eyes were doing. My eyes were definitely NOT aiming at the same place or working together as a team! To this day, I can vividly recall that "cockeyed" test image. I thought I was a wreck!
At the time, I could not possibly conceive of what I might see if my two eyes did work together as a coordinated team. And, as Ms. Barry explained, a person with normal vision can not experience what the stereoblind person sees by simply closing one eye. When the normally-sighted person closes one eye, their brain draws on a lifetime of stored 3D vision data.
In this interview, Sue gives a lucid description of how optometric vision therapy works...it permanently changes the visual system (brain, eyes, and body) by giving the patient challenging and novel stimuli along with useful and rewarding feedback. The developmental optometrist and vision therapist help with motivation, too. But, as Sue Barry explained, "an adult brain changes largely in response to stimuli that are behaviorally relevant." So, the adult who undertakes optometric vision therapy must be looking for "a better way to negotiate the world." In other words, BYOM - Bring Your Own Motivation. ;-)
Now -- Happy Ending -- I live, move, and see in a 3D world. I can drive a car without terrifying my passengers. I can judge distances and even catch balls (or car keys thrown by playful friends). I can chop vegetables without cutting my fingertips. I am no longer constantly bumping into things or knocking objects over. I And, so important to me, I can now make normal eye contact and see how close or far another person is. People no longer look like flat cardboard cut-outs, separate from me, standing over there somewhere!?
Life is so much richer in 3D and I am thankful that Sue Barry is telling people so. Read her book Fixing My Gaze!
We are not alone! Read hundreds of people's stories about life-changing vision therapy at http://www.visiontherapystories.org.
I have provided vision therapy in my office for over 20 years. I often have parents whose children have had strabismus surgery who are astonished to be told that their child's eyes do not work together and they have no depth perception. They thought the surgery took care of the problem and nothing further in the way of therapy was needed. Eye surgeons do not educate their patients about the option of vision therapy. Hopefully this book and the information it contains will help educate the public.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisOur abilities to learn and change are dependent on neuroplasticity. Dr. Barry explains how, under the proper circumstances with a determined patient, even an adult with a turned eye may rewire their brain to have stereo vision. Many kinds of visual processing can be developed in children and adults which can have profound effects on their lives. Her experiences, research, and book have the potential to guide many people to receive help through vision therapy.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI was cross-eyed at the age of 3 and went on to have three surgeries. I am an extreme case of vertical strabismus. I went to see a COVD certified vision therapist after reading about Sue. My case was so severe that Dr. Gruning of Eye Care Associates in Fairfield, CT was at first hesitant to suggest this as an option, but thought we should give it a try.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI worked very hard and after a few months they put a pair of prism glasses on me. I have never had an experience like this in my life. I was truly astounded. The whole room changed; suddenly I actually saw that people stand in different places. People's faces are not flat but beautifully angled with the nose coming out and cheeks rising up. I saw for the first time that objects on tables each on their own surface. The side of a cup was round! The legs of a table actually have their own purpose! I just can not believe how beautiful the world looks in-stereo. It is an elating and profound experience.
After alternating my eyes for over 40 years, I am very slowly understanding how to coordinate them together. It has been a long road. Vision Therapy for me has been hard work, but the surprises are worth every minute. I continue weekly training and now I have begun to see double, which for me is very exciting, as I know it means that my eye is waking up. (Eventually, I know this is something I want to get past!)
Sometimes in Vision Therapy I feel like I am being asked to reach around in the darkest part of my brain. I have no idea where I am going or how to get there. I have no idea what it is I am trying to find. The only thing I am certain of is when I arrive.
Sue Barry's book, Fixing my Gaze is a beautifully written account of her journey into seeing a whole new world. She has paved the way for many.
"snowflakes envelope me"
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI'm fairly sure the snowflakes are not sending her anywhere. So the word is "envelop".
Terry Thomas, age 64
English Major (Baylor University & University of Maryland)
Because of Sue Barry, hopefully less people will reach college before realizing they are missing such an important part of their visual system. It is amazing that a condition such as this can be corrected, yet so many people believe otherwise.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI enjoyed reading Dr. Barry's interview and the discusion on neuroplasticity. The underlying lesson is that innovative thinkers can achieve breakthroughs when challenging dogma. Evidence based medicine is an important concept. However too many clinicians reject out of hand anything that hasn't been certified by a national multicenter peer reviewed study. While that should remain the gold standard, there are times when logic, experience and intuition need to lead the way.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI enjoyed reading Dr. Barry's interview and the discussion on neuroplasticity. The underlying lesson is that innovative thinkers can achieve breakthroughs when challenging dogma. Evidence based medicine is an important concept. However too many clinicians reject out of hand anything that hasn't been certified by a national multicenter peer reviewed study. While that should remain the gold standard, there are times when logic, experience and intuition need to lead the way.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI enjoyed reading Dr. Barry's interview and the discussion on neuroplasticity. The underlying lesson is that innovative thinkers can achieve breakthroughs when challenging dogma. Evidence based medicine is an important concept. However too many clinicians reject out of hand anything that hasn't been certified by a national multicenter peer reviewed study. While that should remain the gold standard, there are times when logic, experience and intuition need to lead the way.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI would simply add that what Dr. Barry experienced and what we do as a profession is actually applied neuroscience. Eyes are an expansion of the brain itself. The most update optometrists (behavioral and developmental oriented) can offer many options to numerous conditions. Please visit:
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thiswww.covd.org
www.oepf.org
www.nora.cc
Vassilis Kokotas, Optometrist
Athens, Greece.
As an optometry student who is enthusiastic about doing vision therapy in practice after graduation, Stereo Sue's story really helps solidify why this area of our profession is so important.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI am certain that Dr. Barry's story will bring hope and inspiration to so many! As a Sound Therapist, I am well aware of the positive, life-enhancing brain changes that are possible...Yes, even for adults. Thank you, Dr. Barry, for shining the light on Optometric Vision Therapy. Hopefully even more people will take notice.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWonderful perspective from noted neuroscientist, Sue Barry. I examine patients weekly who feel victim to their poor eye coordination skills, which often times deteriorate as they mature, further affecting the quality of their lives. Many of these patients have been told nothing can be done; Sue Barry gives hope and insight to people with "lazy" eye or amblyopia.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI am so pleased that Dr. Bary's book has received the attention it deserves. Not only is a fascinating story about human potential, but the topic is very timely. That Stereo Sue writes with both neurobiological and scientific educator viewpoints makes the book accessible to a wide array of people.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAs an optometrist that provides vision therapy, I have shared "Fixing My Gaze" with many patients and friends, and it has been very well received.
Additionally, I have also interviewed Dr. Barry for my practice Blog, which can be found at http://tinyurl.com/stereosue if you are interested.
Congrats,
Nathan Bonilla-Warford, OD
I am very strongly left-eye dominant. Nevertheless I can catch a baseball and thread a needle. Normal head movements provide me with at least as much parallax information as binocular vision. As a geologist I was trained to use stereoscopes, but although I can force the three-dimensional effect with effort, it adds nothing to what I can see from just looking at an aerial photograph directly. Unlike Susan Barry, I do not perceive the world as two dimensional - it is full of parallax clues from movement, as well as light and shading information. I had eye exercises when I was young, of the old "put the canary in the cage" type, but I never actually saw combined images. Instead I learned to flip back and forth between eyes rapidly to align the images. To this day I can produce a parallax shift with both eyes open by holding up a finger and selecting which eye to use. Optometrists find this fascinating.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI too was born "cross-eyed" and had eye surgery at 2-years of age to tighten the eye muscle, as was explained to me then so my eys would no longer be "crossed". I'm currently 50 years old and I'm excited to know that I may be able to improve my vision. I have trouble driving at night especially. I believe it's because the frame of reference of seeing buildings, etc in the distance is not there to help me "see" depth. In college I took a developmental psychology class and learned there what the article mentions, that if the surgery is not done by 2-years of age that the eye nerves don't learn to work as one. As an adult I talke to my optometrist about this aspect of my sight. He showed me some 3-D type drawings. I was able to discern the gross 3-D objects but not the more finer ones. I'm wondering if this means I have partial abilities. Also when the optometrist gives me a test where I'm supposed to see one object I always see two. As a child growing up I was never very good at playing any sport with a ball. I was also afraid of climbing trees which I think makes sense, given that it would be hard for me to tell how far away the next branch would have been away from me. I will definitely check out http://www.covd.org. to learn more about this. Thank you so much!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIn his interpretation of Cezanne, Jonah Lehrer (Proust Was A Neuroscientist) derived that vision is a very private affair. What a joy to see Scientific American give Jonah this platform on which he elevates Susan Barry's visual experiences. Sue gives a fascinating account of how she came to discover optometric vision therapy and the benefits she derived through acquiring visual stability. The 2-D to 3D transformation is icing on the cake of so many other improvements in Sue's visual function. In making her visual transformation a very public affair, Sue's expressiveness rivals Cezanne's art. Kudos to Scientific American for substantive information on visual neuroplasticity, and the critical link between vision and learning.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisDr. Barry’s book, Fixing My Gaze, should be a part of every physician’s required reading in medical school! What makes this book exceptional is that it is not only informative; it is easy and enjoyable to read. One other point, while every Doctor of Optometry has some training in vision therapy, it really takes a specialist in vision therapy to effectively treat patients with strabismus like Dr. Barry. To find a doctor who has experience providing vision therapy and treating strabismus, patients should look for a doctor who is preferably Board Certified in Developmental Vision and Therapy by the College of Optometrists in Vision Development…a doctor who has FCOVD after their name. A doctor locator can be found at http://www.covd.org
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisDr. Barry has done a wonderful job of describing the experience of gaining stereovision. As a developmental optometrist, I have had the pleasure of helping many patients achieve this, who subsequently described their experience (although none as eloquently as Dr. Barry). In science (and medicine), it is a shame when a ground-breaking theory such as the visual critical period becomes so dogmatic that it doesn't allow for new possibilities. Interestingly, it does not appear that Hubel or Wiesel intended this.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI am experiencing binocular vision after 44 years of monocular vision and strabismus. Persistence pays - thank goodness for behavioral optometrists who know the real results and value of what they do. All the regular eye doctors every told me was 'live with it'. They were dead wrong.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisDear Dr. Barry, your article was fascinating -as was your NPR. interview. As a young Physician Assistant I, too, was taught the prevailing misinformation about the cause and prognosis for strabismus. I'm sorry you had to experience the well-intended but ineffective surgeries, but the fact that the Sx continued supports your concept that even mild neurological imbalances in perception can exacerbate even mild extra-ocular muscle imbalances. I heard you say that you have developed some fear of heights and wanted to offer a partial cure based on my years as a hypnotherapist and NLP practitioner. Allow yourself to imagine a time in your life when you felt particularly safe, secure, and loved... Allow these feelings to become more vivid and clear until it's almost as if you were there. Then, choose a gesture which seems right for you. Some press finger and thumb together, others use a peace sign or thumbs up... By combining those feelings of safety with the gesture, you gradually anchor the two together so that anytime you use the gesture it brings back the feelings of security and safety.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisArmed with is ability you can imagine feelings of visual overload or fear in gradually increasing intensity, noticing how [despite them] you can return to feelings of safety and security with your anchor gesture. In time, you'll be able to actually put yourself in anxiety-provoking situations and still control your sympathetic NS arousal, using the gesture and opposing feelings. I'm sure you recognize this as classic Systematic Desensitization -but with the variation that you're doing the initial work via your imagination and you always have your secure resource state to fall back on.
I myself suffered a hypovolemic R parieto-temporal CVA as a teenager and had a right parieto-temporal epiphysiectomy in 2006 at Univ. FL. Shands Hospital for seizure control. I haven't had Left visual field since 1972 and sense those areas as a swirling chaos without images. I'm a strong believer in neuroplasticity and am using the Posit Science and Lumosity.com software, but is there anything else you might recommend to improve that deficit? I'm also a guitarist. Thanks, J Ross Hester, PACret. CH rosscares22@gmail.com (352) 383-2300.
Susan Barry didn't have convergence insufficiency. Those studies aren't pertinant to Susan's situation at all!!
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