According to Dr. Brelvi, a 20-year veteran of Clinical Optometry, the frontiers of scientific discovery are defined not only by the various “tools” available for clinical observation and monitoring but more so by conceptual innovation.

By introducing the new discipline of Cognitive Optometry two years ago, Dr. Brelvi envisioned fellow vision-care practitioners to recognize the central role played by vision in mediating the complex processes of awareness, attention and cognition, which give rise to the gift of sentience in human beings and higher primates.

In his view, what marks Cognitive Optometry as an important asset to the field of Neuro-Biology, is the correlation of anomalous mental activities as a visual information-processing problem. This rests on the basic premise that our perceptions, thoughts and social behavior depend largely on the ability of the visual system to become aware, attend and respond appropriately to incoming sensory information.

“Any disruption or dysfunction of the complex neural pathways from the retina, through the midbrain into the primary, secondary and tertiary regions of the visual cortex” states Dr.Brelvi, “will lead to perceptual and conceptual anomalies in the affected individual.”

Dr. Brelvi also believes that our role as primary vision-care providers is to not only diagnose but also help manage these deficits and assist our patients to lead more productive and rewarding lives.