NEURO-OPTOMETRIST [ back to Glossary Index ]
A neuro-optometrist is a specialist in the diagnosis and rehabilitation of visual disorders caused by neurologic events including TBI, stroke and MS. Neurogenic visual disorders treated include loss of visual acuity, blurred vision, loss of depth perception, double vision and decreased peripheral vision. Treatment differs depending on whether the source of the visual disorder is a cranial nerve stretch injury affecting eye muscle tension, an occipital lobe contusion or damage along the pathway from the retina to the midbrain controlling "ambient visual processing" (the automatic, sub-conscious integration of visuo-spatial,  tactile and propioceptive information to provide general spatial orientation). Treatment includes bi-nasal occlusion, glasses with prisms and exercises. This is a fairly new specialty. Practitioners can be found at large urban hospitals. Some of the big HMOs like Kaiser have them too.