Photorefraction of normal and astigmatic infants during viewing of patterned stimuli.

Photorefraction was used to assess the state of accommodation of 3-month old infants with and without astigmatism while they viewed stimuli in an apparatus commonly used to test infant visual acuity. The stimuli were a 1.6 c/deg vertical grating, a 1.6 c/deg horizontal grating and a cross composed of orthogonal 19 min lines, which were presented 55 cm from the infants. Most infants' accommodation was appropriate for the vertical grating. Astigmatic infants did not change their focus when the orientation of the grating was changed.