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Recovery of visual functions in patients with cerebral blindness

Recovery of visual functions in patients with cerebral blindness 221 44 44 2 2 J. Zihl Abteilung Neuropsychologie Max-Planck-Institut für Psychiatrie Kraepelinstr. 10 D-8000 München 40 Germany Summary Patients with homonymous visual field defects after damage to the geniculo-striate pathway were forced to make saccadic eye movements to light targets presented briefly in their perimetrically blind regions. This specific type of saccadic localization led to an increase in visual field size in the region subjected to this practice. Visual acuity and color identification also improved in the restored region, provided that the lesion was mainly limited to the striate cortex. The enlargement of the visual field strongly depended on a specific practice. The degree of recovery was related to the sharpness of the visual field border. In patients with a rather shallow gradient of light sensitivity in the area between the intact visual field and the scotoma, a fairly good recovery was obtained, whereas in patients with a steeper gradient the enlargement of the visual field was small. It is suggested that recovery takes place at the level of the striate cortex and is probably mediated by the retino-tectal pathway. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Experimental Brain Research Springer Journals

Recovery of visual functions in patients with cerebral blindness

Zihl, J.
Experimental Brain Research , Volume 44 (2) – Oct 1, 1981
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References (25)

Publisher
Springer Journals
Copyright
Copyright © 1981 by Springer-Verlag
Subject
Biomedicine; Neurosciences; Neurology
ISSN
0014-4819
eISSN
1432-1106
DOI
10.1007/BF00237337
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

221 44 44 2 2 J. Zihl Abteilung Neuropsychologie Max-Planck-Institut für Psychiatrie Kraepelinstr. 10 D-8000 München 40 Germany Summary Patients with homonymous visual field defects after damage to the geniculo-striate pathway were forced to make saccadic eye movements to light targets presented briefly in their perimetrically blind regions. This specific type of saccadic localization led to an increase in visual field size in the region subjected to this practice. Visual acuity and color identification also improved in the restored region, provided that the lesion was mainly limited to the striate cortex. The enlargement of the visual field strongly depended on a specific practice. The degree of recovery was related to the sharpness of the visual field border. In patients with a rather shallow gradient of light sensitivity in the area between the intact visual field and the scotoma, a fairly good recovery was obtained, whereas in patients with a steeper gradient the enlargement of the visual field was small. It is suggested that recovery takes place at the level of the striate cortex and is probably mediated by the retino-tectal pathway.

Journal

Experimental Brain Research – Springer Journals

Published: Oct 1, 1981

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