Central fixation

The eye is a miniature camera, in many respects very similar to a camera. However, in one respect between them there is a significant difference. The photosensitive film in the camera is equally sensitive at each point. The retina has the same point of maximum sensitivity. Any other part of it has a lower sensitivity in proportion to the distance from this point. This point of maximum sensitivity is called fovea centralis, which literally means "central fossa".

The retina, although it is an extremely thin shell with a thickness of 1/80 inch to less than half that size, has an extremely complex structure. It consists of 8 layers, only one of which is believed to be associated with the perception of visual images. This layer consists of the smallest rod-shaped and cone-shaped cells, differing in shape and very differently distributed in different parts of the retina. In the center of the retina is a small round elevation, which because of the yellow color it takes after death, and sometimes during the life of a person, is called macula lutea( macula), which literally means "yellow spot".In the center of this spot is fovea( fovea), a deep fovea of ​​a darker color. In the center of the fossa there is not a single stick, but the cones are elongated and closely pressed together. Other layers in this place, on the contrary, are extremely thin or disappear altogether. Thus, the cones here are covered with barely noticeable traces of them. Outside the center of the fovea, the cones become thicker and less common, alternating with chopsticks, whose number increases as they move toward the edges of the retina.

The exact function of rods and cones is unclear, but it is known that the center of the fovea, where all the elements except cones and associated cells, practically disappear, is the place of the sharpest view. As the distance from this point, the acuity of visual perception decreases rapidly. Therefore, an eye with normal vision sees one part of any object that it looks at best, and all other parts are worse, in proportion to their distance from the point of maximum visual acuity. An unchanging symptom of all abnormal eye conditions, both functional and organic, is that such a central fixation is lost.

HORIZONTAL SECTION OF THE EYE APPLIANCE

These circumstances are related to the fact that when vision is normal, the sensitivity of the fossa is normal, but when vision deteriorates( for any reason), the sensitivity of the fossa decreases to the extent that the eye sees exactly the same and even better the other partsretina. In contrast to what is usually accepted to believe, the part of the object of vision seen best when the vision is normal is extremely small. The textbooks claim that from 20 feet the area half an inch in diameter can be seen with maximum visual acuity, but anyone who tries to see from this distance every part of even the smallest letters of the Snellen test table( and their diameter may be less than a quarter of an inch) equallywell at the same time, will immediately become myopic. The fact is that the closer the point of maximum vision approaches a mathematical point that does not have any area, the better the sight.

The reason for this loss of function of the center of vision is mental stress. Since all abnormal eye conditions( both organic and functional) are accompanied by mental stress, absolutely all of them should be accompanied by a loss of central fixation. When the brain is in tension, the eyes are usually more or less blinded. First of all, the center of vision is blinded, partially or completely, depending on the degree of tension. If the voltage is large enough, all or most of the retina can be involved in this process. When the function of the center of vision is partially or completely suppressed, a person can no longer see the point at which he is looking best. In this case, objects that he does not look directly at are seen as well or even better, because the sensitivity of the retina now becomes approximately equal in each part or even better in the part outside the center. Consequently, in all cases of impaired vision, a person is unable to see what he is looking at best.

This state sometimes takes such extreme forms that a person can look far away from the object( so far away that you can still see it) and, nevertheless, see it as well as when looking directly at it. In one case, this condition went so far that my patient could only see the edge of the retina from the side of the nose. In other words, she did not see the fingers of her hands when she was holding them in front of her face, but noticed them as they moved to the edge of her eye. She did not have a very significant degree of refraction anomaly, which indicates that although each refraction anomaly is accompanied by eccentric fixation, the stress causing one state differs from the voltage producing the other state. The patient was examined by local specialists and specialists of Europe who attributed her blindness to the disease of the optic nerve or brain. The fact that her vision was restored by relaxation showed that this condition was caused simply by mental stress.

The eccentric fixation, even at smaller degrees, is so unnatural that a few seconds of trying to see every part of some area with a side of 3-4 inches from a distance of 20 and even less than feet or an area the size of an inch or less at the near point is the samegood at the same time can lead to considerable discomfort and pain. At the same time the retinoscope will show that an abnormality of refraction has appeared. This tension, when it is habitual, leads to various kinds of abnormal conditions and underlies most of the problems with the eyes( both functional and organic).However, in the chronic nature of the condition, discomfort and pain may be absent. Thus, when a person begins to experience them, then this is an encouraging sign.

When the eye possesses a central fixation, it not only takes possession of impeccable vision, but is in an ideal state of rest and can be used indefinitely without fatigue. He is open and calm, no nervous movements are noted, and when he looks at any point in the distance, the visual axes are parallel. In other words, there are no muscular eye defects. This fact is little known. Textbooks claim that muscle shortcomings are also found in the eyes with normal eyesight, but such cases never occurred to me. The muscles of the face and the whole body are also at rest. In addition, when this condition is common, there are no wrinkles or dark circles around the eyes.

In most cases, eccentric fixation of the eye, on the contrary, quickly becomes tired, and the very appearance of eccentric fixation is an expression of effort or tension. An ophthalmoscope( an instrument that can be used to view the fundus) shows that the eyeball moves at irregular intervals from side to side, vertically or in other directions.(When you look at the optic nerve with an ophthalmoscope, you can see shorter movements than with a simple tracking of the appearance of the eye.) These movements often have such a large amplitude that they can be detected by a routine examination, and sometimes sufficiently noticeable to look like nystagmusa condition in which there is a noticeable and more or less rhythmic movement of the eyeball from side to side).The usual check, or a slight touch of the eyelid of one eye, while the other eye looks at some object in the near or far point, you can detect the nervous movements of the eyelids. In this case, the visual axis is never parallel, and the deviation from the norm can become so noticeable that it is possible to ascertain the state of strabismus. Other symptoms of eccentric fixation are the redness of the conjunctiva and the edges of the eyelids, wrinkles around the eyes, dark circles beneath them and lacrimation.

Eccentric fixation is a symptom of stress and is reduced by any method that removes it. But in some cases, help is brought to the demonstration of the very fact of central fixation. When he realizes through a real show that he does not see best what he looks straight at, he can still, looking away from any point with sufficient distance from it, see it worse than with a direct look at it, he can, thus, begin to try to reduce the distance from which he is forced to look in order to see this point worse. This process of reducing distance can be continued until he can look directly at the top of some small letter and see its bottom worse or look at the bottom of the letter and see its top worse.

The smaller the letter considered in this way or the shorter the distance the patient is forced to look away from any letter to see the opposite part of it is unclear, the greater the degree of relaxation and better vision. When it becomes possible to look at the bottom of some letter and see the top of it worse, or look at the top of the letter and see the bottom worse, it will become possible and the vision of this letter is completely black and clear. At first such sight can come only with glimpses - the letter will clearly show up at some moment, and then disappear. But gradually, if the training continues, the central fixation will become familiar.

Most people can easily look at the bottom of the big "C" on the checklist and see its top worse. But in some cases, not only can not do this, but even can not get rid of large letters, if the distance allows them to see. Such extreme cases sometimes require considerable ingenuity: first, to show a person that he does not see best what he looks straight at, and secondly, to help him see an object when looking away from him is worse, than when looking directly at him. It was useful to use as a point of fixation a strong light source( or two light sources in 5-10 feet from each other).A person, when he looks away from a light source, it is easier to see it less bright than any black letter worse when looking away from it. Then in the subsequent do the same with the letter for it will be much easier. This method was successful in the following case.

A woman with a vision of 3/2004 claimed that she could see the larger "C" better when she looked at a point a few feet away from her, rather than looking directly at her. Her attention was drawn to the fact that her eyes are quickly tired, and her vision is weakened when she looks at objects in this way. Then she was asked to look at the bright object about 3 feet away from the check table. It was so much her attention that she could see the big letter on the checklist worse. After that, with a second look at the letter, she managed to see her better. Thus, she was shown that she can do one of two things: either look away and see the letter better than she had seen her before, or look away and see her worse. Then she learned to see her worse all the time, when she looked three feet away from her. Even later, she gradually, with constant improvement in vision, managed to reduce this distance, first up to two feet, then to one foot and finally to six inches. Eventually, the patient could look at the bottom of the letter and see her top worse or look at the top of the letter and see her bottom worse. As she trained, she learned to look the same way in smaller letters. Eventually, she read line ten( a line that should normally be read from 10 feet) from a distance of 20 feet. By the same method, she learned to read the font diamond first with 12 inches, and then with 3 inches. In short, it was only by these simple methods that she learned to see best what her gaze was directed at. Her vision was restored completely.

The highest degrees of eccentric fixation occur at high degrees of myopia. In such cases, since vision is best at the near point, it is useful to practice the vision worse at this distance. The distance can then be gradually increased until it becomes possible to do the same thing from 20 feet. One of my patients with a high degree of myopia recounted that the farther she looked to the side and the source of electric light, the better she saw it, but she alternately looked at this light source at a near point or away from him, through a shorttime to see it brighter with a direct look at it, rather than when looking away. Later, she was able to do the same thing with 20 feet. At that moment, she experienced a great sense of relief. No words, she said, can convey exactly this condition. It seemed that every nerve was relaxed, and a sense of comfort and peace permeated all of her body. The subsequent progress was rapid. Soon the woman learned to look at one part of some smallest letter from the checklist, seeing the rest of the rest worse, which enabled her to read these letters from 20 feet.

According to the principle that once burnt child is afraid of fire, some people benefit from conscious visual impairment. When they understand( on the basis of a real demonstration of the facts), what causes the deterioration of their vision, they subconsciously begin to avoid the unconscious tension that causes them. Therefore, if the degree of eccentric fixation has not reached its limits, that is, it is possible to further increase it, it is useful to learn how to do this. When a person deliberately worsens his vision, making discomfort and even pain, trying to see the big letter "C" or a whole string of letters equally well at the same time, he can better cope with the unconscious effort of the eye to see all the parts of a small area equally well at the same time.

When learning to see what is best for a direct view, it is usually more useful for a person to think of a point that is not considered directly, less visible than the point at which it looks, rather than a fixed point, as seen best. This is explained by the fact that training on letters in most cases tends to increase the stress under which the eye already works. One part of an object is best seen only when the brain is satisfied with the vision of the greater part of it unclear. When the degree of relaxation increases, the area of ​​the part that is visibly worse starts to grow until the part seen best is just a point.

The limits of vision depend on the degree of central fixation. A person can read a pointer half a mile from himself when he sees all the letters equally well. But when he learns to see one letter better than everyone else, he will be able to read smaller letters, about the presence of which he did not know. The remarkable sight of savages who see with the naked eye objects for which most civilized people require a telescope, is obliged to central fixation. Some people can see the rings of Saturn or the moons of Jupiter with the naked eye. This is not due to superiority in the structure of their eyes, but to the fact that they have reached a higher degree of central fixation than most civilized people.

When the eye looks with the use of the central fixation, not only all the abnormalities of refraction and functional impairment of vision disappear, but many organic conditions are also cured. I can not mark any boundaries of its possibilities. I will not venture to assert that glaucoma, incipient cataract and syphilitic iritis( inflammation of the iris) can be cured by central fixation, but the fact that these conditions disappeared when central fixation was achieved is a fact. Relief was often achieved in a few minutes, and in rare cases this relief was permanent. However, usually a constant improvement required longer treatment. After other methods of treatment failed, central fixation proved useful for all kinds of inflammatory conditions, including inflammation of the cornea, iris, conjunctiva, various layers of the eyeball and even the optic nerve itself. Central fixation was also useful in cases of infections, diseases caused by protein toxicosis, infections of typhoid, flu, syphilis and gonorrhea. Even with an alien body, there was no redness in the eye or any suffering while the central fixation was preserved.

Since central fixation is impossible without mental control, the central fixation of the eye also means a central fixation of the psyche. In turn, this means a healthy state of all the organs of the body, since the entire activity of the physical mechanism depends on the psyche. Not only sight, but all other senses-touch, hearing, taste and smell-benefit from using a central fixation. It improves all life processes-digestion, assimilation, excretion, etc. The symptoms of functional and organic diseases improve. The effectiveness of the psyche increases dramatically. In short, the benefit of central fixation is so great that this subject deserves further scientific investigation.