Effects of preferred retinal locus placement on text navigation and development of advantageous trained retinal locus.

Sixty readers were evaluated for visual function and text-navigation ability. The visual field and preferred retinal locus (PRL) were measured with a scanning laser ophthalmoscope (SLO). We found significant differences in text-navigation ability based on scotoma and PRL placement. Readers with a PRL to the left of or above a scotoma had significantly less text-navigation abilities. Readers with a PRL to the left of a scotoma tended to misread words with similar beginnings and omit the last word on a line. Readers with a PRL above a scotoma tended to skip a line or reread the same line twice. In a follow-up study, seven subjects with a nonadvantageous PRL quickly developed a trained retinal locus (TRL) during instruction with an SLO. Although the readers developed the TRL in about 15 minutes, they read slower with the TRL than the PRL. This TRL research provides promising pilot data.

Personal characteristics that influence exercise behavior of older adults.

Long-term exercise participation among older adults will result in healthier lifestyles and reduced need for health care. A better understanding, therefore, of what influences older individuals to start and maintain exercise plans would be beneficial. The twofold purpose of this study was (1) to create a knowledge base of determinants that influence exercise behavior in older adults and (2) to have health professionals prioritize determinants that affect exercise initiation and adherence in older adults. The expert panel examined nine determinants within the category of personal characteristics: age, gender, ethnicity, occupation, educational level, socioeconomic status, biomedical status, smoking status, and past exercise participation. The experts rated the determinants on importance for influencing exercise behavior of older adults. This expert panel concluded that older adults who are in good health and have a history of exercise activity might be more likely to participate in long-term exercise programs.