Blur Sensitivity in Myopes

PURPOSE: This study compared the ability of myopes and emmetropes to detect subjectively the presence of retinal defocus. METHODS: Subjects (12 myopes, 12 emmetropes) were cyclopleged and monocularly viewed a bipartite target through an appropriate near addition lens via a 2-mm artificial pupil. One-half of the target remained fixed while the other half was alternatively moved forward or backward until subjects first reported a difference in clarity between the two halves of the target. RESULTS: The mean blur threshold for the emmetropes and myopes was +/-0.11 and +/-0.19 D, respectively (p = 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: These results demonstrate that myopes are less sensitive to the presence of blur, and may at least partially explain why previous reports have demonstrated a larger lag of accommodation in this refractive group. Additionally, the hyperopic retinal defocus resulting from the increased accommodative error may play a significant role in myopia development and progression.