The Anatomy of the Eye

There are six tiny muscles that surround the eye and control its movements. They are known as the extraocular muscles. Four of these muscles control the eye’s movements from left to right and up and down. The other two rotate the eyes inward or outward. All six muscles work in unison to move the eye. As one contracts, the opposing muscle relaxes, creating smooth movements. Also, the muscles of both eyes work together so that the eyes are always aligned.

Of course, there is a lot more to consider about the anatomy of the eye. But in regards to learning and how to strengthen the visual system, this is really all you need to know. I am not an eye doctor, but one is necessary to check for the health of the eye and to determine if glasses are needed.

Let’s go back to those eye muscles now. A lot of people don’t even think about the muscles that hold the eyes in place. But, as with any muscle, there can be weaknesses. I am finding more and more children who struggle in school partly because of weak eye muscles. Remember, those muscles must work together and must be properly aligned. What do you think would happen if the muscles are weak or the eyes aren’t properly aligned? Do you think that reading and school work would be difficult?

Some of those eye muscles contract while others relax, hopefully in unison. Frequently, these muscles don’t work in unison. Perhaps one set of muscles contracts too tightly, just as muscles in, say, a leg might be over contracting. What would you do if the muscles in your leg didn’t work right? You’d get physical therapy, most likely prescribed by your doctor. Well, the same is true for the muscles of the eye.

The eye muscles must work smoothly for efficient learning to take place. If the eye muscles turn too far in or too far out, then it is difficult for proper perception to occur. Both eyes need to aim at the same point to have clear, single vision, and the student’s eyes must be able to move across a horizontal reading line or vertically up and down a math page in an efficient manner.

There is more that can go wrong with the processing of visual information than that of just the muscles. Sometimes the brain will intermittently “shut down” an eye throughout the day. This is called suppression. Many students have an extremely difficult time focusing from a far plane of vision, back to a near plane of vision, and so on. This is called accommodation. Sometimes the student is unable to take the two images seen by two eyes and fuse them into one image. Often kids with learning problems will show poor depth perception.