Dementia Action Week – Sight Perception

Its Dementia Action Week.

Each day this week we will be releasing some helpful information on specific elements of Neurodegenerative Conditions.

For the first of our informative posts, we are discussing Sight Perception. What is sight perception? This is when the eye looks at an object, the eye then sends the signal to the brain and then, as the brain interprets what the eye is seeing there is a break down and the interpretation becomes different to what the eye is actually seeing. Example; the eye sees a standard lamp in the corner of the room but the brain interprets it as a person standing in the corner of the room.

There can be a few different reasons behind someone having difficulty with their sight perception.

• Eye problems such as cataracts, so first thing is to check this with an Optician.
• Lighting in the room, is the lighting low or are there lamps that could be causing shadows?
• Is there a time of day that is causing more difficulty than others? If so, what time of day is it? It might be worth making a log of when this happens to see if you can notice any patterns. For example, are mornings worse is it the evening, where the daylight is going and the indoor lights are now on? It could also be due to tiredness, either because it takes the person longer to wake up in the morning or because the get very tired at the end of the day.

Knowing this might not change what is happening for the person but, it might help you make sense of what is happening and, help you find ways of coping and supporting the person that is experiencing the sight perception difficulties.

The brain is very clever and highly adapted to protecting us. When the brain knows that there are changes, or things it is struggling with, it will try to fill in the gaps so that we can make sense of our environment. It is worth noting that sometimes what the brain thinks make sense, is not what actually makes sense. The following picture is a good example of how the brain helps us to make sense of a situation that has missing or inaccurate details.

Did you understand what is written? Even if it was just a few words, it shows that your brain was able to take confusing visual information and adapt it in a way that it can understand.

It is easy to forget that it is our brain in charge of all that we do and also our perception of the world around us. Our understanding of what is up and what is down. We can get our body to physically adjust and move accordingly to its surroundings, lifting our leg and foot to the right hight to go up a step or a curb becomes something a healthy person takes for granted as the brain and body works smoothly together.

How does this picture make you feel when looking at it?

You understand that this is a pattern in the carpet because you can interpret the information that the eye is providing. Your brain is showing you that it looks like the floor is uneven but, imagine if your brain wasn’t able to help you understand that this is an optical illusion, it would be quite frightening and unpleasant.

These images can cause someone to feel anxious and confused with or without dementia. So, it is important to understand that what we see also impacts how we feel and our wellbeing. Sight perception difficulties are not always about the quality of vision but more about the interpretation of what is being seen.

You may not be able to change someone’s perception but by understanding how they feel can help.

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