Course subject: Optometry (OPTOM)

An advanced course which examines photoreceptor function, the retina, the neural processing of form and colour by the geniculo-striate system, the neural control of eye movements and accommodation by midbrain and brainstem structures, the vestibular system as it relates to vision, eye-hand co-ordination, the neural processing involved in reading.

Attendance within clinical areas agreed upon by the student, supervisor and Clinic Director and approved by the Clinic Director. The aim of the course is to broaden and develop advanced clinical skills and knowledge. Credit will be given for completion of each term of clinical activity (or its equivalent) and the presentation of one seminar (case report) a term. Credit towards a degree may only be earned once in the progression through the MSc degree.

Attendance within clinical areas agreed upon by the student, supervisor and Clinic Director and approved by the Clinic Director. The aim of the course is to broaden and develop advanced clinical skills and knowledge. Any two terms of clinical activity (or its equivalent) and the presentation of one seminar (case report) a term will fulfill this requirement. Recognition of participation in this course can only be given once in the progression through the PhD degree.

Topics in the fields of specialization of the faculty may be studied by special arrangement with the faculty member and the student's committee. The course is designed for PhD students only. The course cannot be similar in content to 608 taken at the Master's level.

Graduate clinic requires the attendance of a resident within the clinical areas agreed upon with his supervisor. This clinical course and associated research projects will provide the resident with materials designed to broaden clinical understanding. OPTOM 631 may be taken any number of times provided that the content of the program is specified in writing by the advisor and is sufficiently varied from a previous session of OPTOM 631 such that it constitutes a distinct advance in a resident's clinical knowledge.

Measurements, probability and power; Detecting difference between parametric/non-parametric variables; Analyzing repeated measures designs; Relationships between parametric/non-parametric variables; Between-eye comparison and correlation; Complex regression; Statistical re-sampling techniques; Analysis of clinical images; Accurancy and repeatability of novel clinical and experimental techniques; Introductory analysis of epidemiological and clinical trials data.

Bayesian statistics, questionnaire analysis, advanced linear and non-linear modeling.

A concentrated review of topics relating to principles of and research in the vision sciences. The course is split into 2 segments (OPTOM 670/671) covering optics of the eye and binocular vision. This course is recommended for all graduate students.

Consideration of the development of the optical, and sensory motor functions of vision during the early years of life provides the basis upon which this course examines current methods and literature in basic and clinical vision sciences. Course structure will be organized to suit a student's background (optometry, psychology, physics or biology) and their special interests.

This course will examine the behavior and neural substrates of eye movements, specifically covering fixation, saccades, vestibular ocular interactions, smooth pursuit and the near triad synkinesis (vergence, accommodation and pupil responses). Oculomotor behaviors for each system will be defined with respect to their specific stimuli, their dynamic and steady state responses. Adaptive process within and across systems will be examined. Control theory will be introduced as a means to model each system. The course will allow emphasis to be focused on oculomotor systems pertinent to the student's research.