Ecole Normale Supérieure, Paris Sciences et Lettres Research University, CNRS, Département d'études cognitives, Laboratoire des Systèmes Perceptifs, Paris, France.
Faculty of Psychology and Educational Science, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
Sci Rep. 2017 Jun 13;7(1):3435. doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-03425-1.
The ability to estimate the distance of objects from one's self and from each other is fundamental to a variety of behaviours from grasping objects to navigating. The main cue to distance, stereopsis, relies on the slight offsets between the images derived from our left and right eyes, also termed disparities. Here we ask whether the precision of stereopsis varies with professional experience with precise manual tasks. We measured stereo-acuities of dressmakers and non-dressmakers for both absolute and relative disparities. We used a stereoscope and a computerized test removing monocular cues. We also measured vergence noise and bias using the Nonius line technique. We demonstrate that dressmakers' stereoscopic acuities are better than those of non-dressmakers, for both absolute and relative disparities. In contrast, vergence noise and bias were comparable in the two groups. Two non-exclusive mechanisms may be at the source of the group difference we document: (i) self-selection or the fact that stereo-vision is functionally important to become a dressmaker, and (ii) plasticity, or the fact that training on demanding stereovision tasks improves stereo-acuity.
估计物体与自身和彼此之间距离的能力是各种行为的基础，从抓取物体到导航。距离的主要线索是立体视觉，它依赖于我们左右眼睛所产生的图像的轻微偏移，也称为视差。在这里，我们想知道立体视觉的精度是否会因精确手工任务的专业经验而有所不同。我们测量了裁缝和非裁缝的绝对视差和相对视差的立体视力。我们使用立体镜和去除单眼线索的计算机测试。我们还使用非尼乌斯线技术测量了聚散的噪声和偏差。我们证明，裁缝的立体视力比非裁缝的要好，无论是绝对视差还是相对视差。相比之下，两组的聚散噪声和偏差相当。我们记录的组间差异可能有两个非排他性的机制：（i）自我选择，或者立体视觉对成为裁缝来说是非常重要的功能；（ii）可塑性，或者说在高要求的立体视觉任务上的训练可以提高立体视力。
