ocular dominance

Ocular dominance refers to the phenomenon where one eye's visual input is favored or "dominant" over the other, particularly in situations of retinal rivalry. This doesn't mean one eye is always used more, but rather that in binocular vision, one eye's input may compel attention more strongly than the other's.1

While an individual might prefer one eye for specific tasks like aiming, true ocular dominance in everyday vision is complex. When the visual fields of both eyes overlap, they combine to form a single, three-dimensional perception. However, when different images are presented to each eye, a competition known as retinal rivalry can occur, where one image may be suppressed or alternated with the other.1

Physiologically, ocular dominance is observed in the cerebral cortex, where certain neurons can be activated by input from only one eye, or by both but with a stronger response from one. Studies have shown that if one eye is deprived of use from birth, the distribution of dominance in cortical neurons changes significantly, indicating that the eye's ability to utilize cortical neurons is not fully developed at birth.2