ABSTRACT:
This chapter proposes a use of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to obtain a visual stress biomarker in processing pathways. This hypothesized biomarker would use the eye to indicate the relationship between internal adaptation (influenced by conscious and non-conscious filtering and decision-making networks) and external environmental changes. Embracing a viewpoint of brain circuitry and metabolism could shift optometry toward a profession of selective neurological and biochemical pathway stimulation. Using the eye as a portal to the nervous system, measurements of internal reactions and responses to external changes can be made, in hopes of providing a useful visual stress biomarker for future disease research and eventual interventions for preventive healthcare.
