Visual representation of space in congenital and acquired strabismus

The aim of the present work was to readdress the problem of altered spatial localization in strabismic subjects and to assess whether and how spatial representation is affected by the degree of plasticity of the brain. We the refore compared targeting performance in adult subjects affected by acquire d strabismus versus children affected by congenital strabismus. Our data co nfirm the correlation between deviation of the eye and targeting errors, bu t they also show that this correlation is not present when strabismus occur s early in life. We suggest that the neuronal machinery involved in the bui lding of an internal representation of space reaches its full maturity seve ral years after birth and that this might explain the limited differences o bserved in targeting errors between normal and strabismic children. (C) 199 9 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.