What is the primary cause of visual impairment in amblyopia?

Amblyopia, often referred to as "lazy eye," is primarily characterized by a failure of one eye to achieve normal visual acuity, which often results from a disruption in the proper alignment of visual axes. When the visual axes are misaligned, the brain may receive conflicting images from each eye. As a result, the brain starts to suppress or ignore the signals from the misaligned eye to avoid double vision, leading to decreased visual development and function in that eye. This misalignment can be due to conditions such as strabismus, where one eye turns in or out, leading to this disruption.

While reduced eye pressure, cataract formation, and diabetic retinopathy can certainly lead to visual impairments, they do not specifically cause amblyopia. Reducing eye pressure pertains to conditions affecting intraocular pressure, cataracts involve clouding of the lens affecting clarity of vision, and diabetic retinopathy relates to complications of diabetes affecting the retina. However, none of these conditions directly involve the misalignment of the visual axes that is fundamental to the development of amblyopia. Thus, poor alignment of visual axes is the primary cause leading to the visual impairment seen in amblyopia.