Emergent textural contours: a new technique for visual monitoring in nystagmus, oculomotor dysfunction, and accommodative disorders.

Emergent textural contours, the perceptual effect seen during continuous rotation of symmetrical arrays of uniform pattern elements, provide a unique source of visual feedback for eye movements and resolutional states and have potential for use as a new clinical tool. The phenomenon is produced by a combination of factors including the effects of visual persistence and differential resolution. A total of 28 subjects including 17 normals, 4 nystagmus, 4 oculomotor dysfunction, and 3 accommodative facility cases were shown an emergent textural contour with an instrument (the Goldrich Contour Rotator) for its display. Subjects were enabled to monitor their own eye movements and accommodative training. Nystagmus subjects were provided with a continuous source of visual input reflecting their ocular oscillations and a determination of the null point of nystagmus was made with the instrument.