Prof. Daphne Maurer, Distinguished University Professor of McMaster University (right) and Dr Kee Chea-su, Associate Director of Research Centre for SHARP Vision; Associate Head and Associate Professor of School of Optometry, PolyU (left).
Prof. Daphne Maurer discussed the coherence of the developmental mechanism in early-stage vision and the perceptual development.
RCSV-SO Joint Distinguished Lecture - “How the Baby Learns to See: Critical Periods Re-visited” was held on 20 April 2022. We were excited to see around 280 optometrists, practitioners, academic staff and students from 14 countries and regions participate in the lecture. Distinguished lecturer, Prof. Daphne Maurer, is a Distinguished University Professor from McMaster University in Canada. She generously shared her knowledge and research findings with the audience. The lecture was moderated by Dr Kee Chea-su, Associate Director of Research Centre for SHARP Vision; Associate Head and Associate Professor of School of Optometry, PolyU.
Newborns have minimal vision, but they are already learning to see. By using the natural experiment result, Prof. Maurer explained that children born with dense cataracts could see after the surgery of removing cataracts in infancy and given compensatory contact lenses. She highlighted that early-stage vision is critical. Once it is missed, it could cause deficits such as acuity vision and face processing. Perceptual development is driven by visual experience and perturbed by imbalances between the eyes or between the senses. Prof. Maurer finally shared that a 40-hour specialized intervention helped improve the visual acuity of some adults with visual deficits.
The lecture ended with stimulating questions, fruitful discussions and interaction between Prof. Maurer and the participants in the Q&A session. The audience found the lecture enlightening.
