This week we want to discuss a recent study that suggests that amblyopia, commonly known as ‘lazy eye’, can be treated by playing tetris.

First, though, it is best to discuss and talk about what the condition actually is.

What is Amblyopia?

Amblyopia is a lower-to-standard acquisition of images through vision. It can happen because the optic nerve is not transmitting the visual messages properly, or when the brain stops acquiring the image from one eye.
Why would the brain do that?
The brain can stop getting an image from one of the eyes because of different reasons. For instance, it could be due to strabismus. In this case, it happens when the brain perceives the images from the two eyes to be different (i.e. it understands that double-vision is occurring).
How can Amblyopia be treated?

Amblyopia is not an intrinsic neurological problem. Rather, it is an acquired bad habit. In patients with amblyopia there is nothing wrong with the eye itself. Hence, because it is a problem of developmental nature, the brain can be re-taught to “see” from the weaker eye.
Since now, most of the treatments were thought to be effective only in children. The main treatment was to occlude the strongest eye, either with an eye-patch or by applying drops of atropine. This would force the brain to acquire the image from the weakest eye, and would strengthen the communication between the two.
What is this new research showing?

The aforementioned treatment applications have not been successful with the majority of adults. This recent academic report, however, has found a new approach that can help adults with amblyopia. This report was published in the journal Current Biology and conducted by Li et al. The researchers have found that the brain still maintains a level of plasticity in adulthood. However, it has not been tackled in the right way. This research suggests that covering the strongest eye might be detrimental, indeed, to curing amblyopia. What these researchers did was to force the eyes to work together.

Why tetris?

Here’s where tetris comes along: one eye was forced to see the blocks falling and the other eye was only allowed to see the ground where they would fall. After two weeks, patients had already improved vision. Further studies are needed to confirm whether covering the strongest eye might indeed not be the best treatment to cure amblyopia. In any case, this remains an interesting research. The journal article of this research can be found here.