Scotomas are examples of acquired visual dysfunction. This is generally associated with damage to the primary visual cortex, due to a stroke or hypertension. But there are many other causes too. When you have a scotoma, an area in your visual field becomes degenerated and vision is impaired. You can probably find a few simulations online. Hope this helps!

For example I can speak you about the impairment in color perception in glaucoma, diabetes, some drugs, like chloroquine, produce retinotoxicity.

Also traumatisms can produce cataracts or other disorders in the visual field depending on the damage in the visual sistem.

Amblyopia is the classic example, acquired in early childhood as a consequence of a visual deficit in one eye compared with the other, the deficit typically being either strabismus or anisometropia. Without early intervention there is no improvement.

Depending on your definition, visual neglect might also be one. This is a kind of "blindness", i.e. people are not able to have conscious visual perceptions anymore, but they can e.g. detect a light flashing up above chance. This condition does not improve. However, people with unilateral neglect (only one half of the visual file is "blind") can be trained to direct their gaze more to the intact side, enabling them to use their vision quite normally.

Moreover, their is a huge range of different higher cognitive visual dysfunctions, so called "agnosia"s. Those can improve or get worse, but it is a matter of debate whether this might be due to motivational factors, compensating strategies, etc.

Nystagmus may be another example of acquired visual dysfunction, when it is related to neurologial or vestibular lesions for exemple.

It might be off topic, but you may also consider amblyopia and deficits of binocular depth perception (stereopsis) as acquired visual dysfunctions, since they are consequences of other "accidental" deficits such as strabism or anisometropia in childhood...

Let me make the answer about amblyopia a bit more clear and accurate. The amblyopia is not the consequence of the visual deficit, but it is the deficit by itself. In theory, either eye alone could be able to transmit visual information to the brain, since the optical system is more or less intact or could be compensated. The major problem is the incompatity between images created on the two retina that can not be combined into a single 3D image by the brain. The diplopia (double vision) that is compenstated by suppression of one of the visual channel.

Incompatity=incompatibility

For a more fun one, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hallucinogen_persisting_perception_disorder

Thrombi or emboli induced central retinal artery/vein occlusion...is another example of acquired visual dysfunction...

Another example of an "accident" that results in visual dysfunction is siderosis. Visual dysfunction continues to progress until the iron material is removed. The dysfunction can be reversible...see http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9143037. A disease that can be associated with visual dysfunction is the retinol deficit found in patients with cystic fibrosis. This dysfunction can also be reversed see......http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9453379

The following is from: Chapter 8 written by Penelope Suter, “Rehabilitation and Management of Visual Dysfunction Following Traumatic Brain Injury” in the book, Traumatic Brain Injury Rehabilitation edited by Ashley and Krych.

When there is a visual dysfunction:

40% Convergence Insufficiency

36% 4th nerve palsy

25% 3rd nerve palsy

25% Multiple nerves/nerve centers

78% Aberrant regeneration of 3rd nerve palsies

19% Severe eye movement disorders

14% Bilateral visual field defects

Hope that is the kind of thing you were looking for. There is so much more in terms of visual processing and spatial judgments as well as higher order visual processing like visual memory and visualizations etc.

AMD, one of the most important causes of visual impairment.

The delayed visual maduration? The visual impairment in Periventricular Leucomalacia in premature infants?

@Chris ...AMD is a genetic disease (may be enhanced by smoking, diet and environmental factors) but not acquired visual impairment.

Dear Imran - thank you for clarifying. My bad :)

What about drug induced ocular toxicity? as quinine, phenothiazin, desferrioxamin, methanol....

They can be responsible of acquired visual dysfunction...

Other examples for acquired visual dysfunctions related to diseases:

- optic neuritis (due to multiple sclerosis, pituitary apoplexy, Horton, etc..) which can be reversible

- paraneoplasic syndromes as Melanoma Associated Retinopathy, Cancer Associated Retinopathy which are not reversible.

Adults as well as children can have visual-acquired dysfunction with migraines.These can take the form of seeing spots, or even more common scintillating scotomas in which a zizzag like a fence is seen homonymously in both eyes to be moving- usually lasts 2-20 minutes. During a migrain, vision can fade in and out- can be quite frightening to the patient.

As an optometrist I have observed many cases of "acquired photophobia" from the wearing of sunwear indoors over a period of time .Any time I see this in clinical practice I advise the patient to discontinue the use of sunwear indoors as continuing this will result in more severe photophobia. Of course I rule out pathologic conditions that may be causing the light sensitivity and advise the patient that it should decrease as a function of time.-

Bill Sharpton,O.D.,F.A.A.O.

Georgia, USA

Visual dysfunction may refer to blindness and visual impairement. The causes are genetically determined or acquired. We have previously reported on these causes

In Saudi Arabia and have shown that with economic development the acquired causes have decreased in children over the past decades.Acquired causes of visual loss include corneal infections, trauma etc..

Diabetes mellitus is the most important reason for visual impairment among people in working ages in developed countries. The incidence of diabetes mellitus is increasing, but the care of patients with diabetes is often better and patients live longer and visual impairment at the same duration is less pronounced.

I agree with Grete Garberg .In addition some of disease such as hemorrhagic disorder , ,retrolental fibroplasia ,Glaucoma, due to increase intraocular pressure, can result in visual impairment as well as diseases with involvement nerves system such as Norma,MS ,....

The optic nerve of mammals including contains at least two, or three, types of fibers differing in size and functions, from thin [parvo-cellular] to thick [magno-cellular]. They have different vulnerability to neurotoxic effects of substances [drugs] and diseases. For example the "parvo' group is affected first by Ethambutol [anti-TB drug] and in diseases like Diabetes Insipidus Diabetes Mellitus Optic Atrophy & (nerve) Deafness [e.g. King-Smith 1975,Nature; King-Smith & Kulikowski 1980; Alvarez & Klikowski 1989; Wild et al]. .Results: impaired visual resolution and colour vision.

The 'magno' group is most affected in some cases of Glaucoma and Melanoma Associated Retinopathy [e.g. Arden & Wolf 1990]. Results: reduced contrast sensitivity and motion detection.

Two alarm symptoms are: diplopia and the oscilopsy. The first usually occur due to paresis of some cranial pair, the second one due to acquired nystagmo. The acquired nystagmo may be caused by a mesencephalic lesion. Best regards

Toxocarosis

Glaucoma is an examble of acquired visual dysfunctions with regards to diseases.It is the main cause of irreversible blindnes, that is why it is very important early diagnosis to prevent further deterioration.

Article Glaucomatous Optic Neuropathy Management: the Role of Neurop...

Age-related macular degeneration is an examble of acquired visual dysfunctions with regards to diseases.

Article Age-Related Macular Degeneration: Alternative Therapy

Retinal vein occlusion is an examble of acquired visual dysfunctions with regards to diseases.

Article Therapeutic potential of intravitreal pharmacotherapy in ret...

Cataract, excluding congenital one, also represents an example of acquired visual dysfunctions . It could be classified into senile, the most common type and due to other disease - diabetes, uveitis, trauma, etc. Regarding the latest findings on risk factors for senile cataract, they are older age, hypertension, diabetes. Cataract causes gradually painless deterioration and loss of vision and represents a treatable cause of blindness. Surgically treated if not due to other changes in the eye related with other eye diseases or disorders it will be full vision recovery.

Examples of acquired visual disfunction with regards to accident blunt trauma causing edema of retina improving vision, retinal detachment - particial improving, laceration of cornea - rehabilitation deprnd on location of laceration, if central needs transplantation of cornea, opacification of the lens - needs remove and implant of intraocular lens instead of natural lens -improving vision

Any deviation from normal visualization and/or normal mental perception of imagery is visual dysfunction which results from a myriad of acquired conditions.

Amblyopia, in which parvo-pathway is affected more, brings about a change in threshold frequencies for motion and spatial vision. Also, anomalous retinal correspondence is likely to cause abnormal experiences due to the changes in retina-brain co-ordination. Strabismus ( usually intermittent) happens to be one of the many causes of poor binocularity. Glaucoma that predominantly affects the magno-pathway results into poor motion perception. Similarly, cataract extraction may give rise to abnormal colour perception, called cyanopsia, in which the patient experiences a blue tinge. Retinal aniseikonia due to retinal oedema is not a new topic in visual science. Some other medical conditions include csr, rd, rp, lesions in the visual pathway, etc.