Motion Perception with Visual Prostheses

Visual prostheses represent a groundbreaking avenue for restoring vision in individuals with visual impairments. These devices utilize electrode arrays positioned in early visual processing areas, like the retina, thalamus, or primary visual cortex. Connected to a camera, they transform a stream of video to electrical stimulation to present the visual environment through patterned activation of phosphenes. Visual prostheses offer the potential to enhance visual function and thereby quality of life for users, however, understanding and replicating motion perception in a manner akin to natural vision remains a critical challenge for device designers. This review presents studies of motion perception in different visual prosthesis modalities and discusses their advantages and limitations. Retinal and cortical visual prostheses show significant potential in enhancing motion perception, but many implementations have shortcomings. Some challenges which remain for better motion perception in visual prosthesis are gaze contingency, the effective integration of machine vision, and understanding the involvement of higher-order visual areas. Despite these challenges, the current research should be viewed with substantial optimism for the future of restoring functional vision to visually impaired individuals.