Aging and central vision loss: Relationship between the cortical macro-structure and micro-structure

Beer, Anton; Plank, Tina; Greenlee, Mark W.

doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.116670

Cited by 17 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 76 publications

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“…In this study, we investigated how extensive eccentric viewing associated with central vision loss and the development of a PRL on intact peripheral retina, functioning as a pseudo fovea, affects brain structures responsible for visual perception and visually guided eye movements. Previous studies had shown that central vision loss can result in a degeneration of cortical gray matter at the occipital pole representing the central visual field (e.g., Boucard et al, 2009;Plank et al, 2011;Hernowo et al, 2014;Prins et al, 2016b;Beer et al, 2020). On the other hand, CT of early visual cortex turned out to be largely preserved or even enhanced in representational areas of the peripheral visual field (Burge et al, 2016).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…This argues both against a systematic enhancement or degeneration as a result of central vision loss in the cortical structure of the eye fields. In most of the eye fields considered here, CT inversely correlated with age (see Table 3), a known and often replicated phenomenon all over the cortex (e.g., Salat et al, 2004;Lemaitre et al, 2012;Beer et al, 2020). We were especially interested in correlations between compensatory behavioral measures like reading speed and eccentric fixation stability in the patients and CT in the eye fields, for which we expected a positive correlation.…”

Section: Cortical Thickness Of the Cortical Eye Fieldsmentioning

confidence: 88%

“…The data of 32 patients (P) with central scotomas due to hereditary retinal dystrophies or age-related macular degeneration (18 males, 14 females; mean age 53.4 years, range 19-84 years; see Table 1 for details) were included in this study. They are a subgroup with established PRLs of the sample included in the analysis of Beer et al (2020). Their data were compared to a group of carefully age-matched normally sighted controls (C) (19 males, 13 females; mean age 52.2 years, range 23-83 years; see also Table 1 for details).…”

Section: Participantsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…T1-weighted structural images were automatically reconstructed by Freesurfer version 5.3 (Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Charlestown, MA, United States; Fischl, 2012). The reconstruction followed procedures as previously described (Beer et al, 2020). In brief, T1-weighted images were intensity normalized and automatically segmented into gray and white matter structures.…”

Section: Cortical Reconstructionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Cortical Thickness Related to Compensatory Viewing Strategies in Patients With Macular Degeneration

et al. 2021

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Retinal diseases like age-related macular degeneration (AMD) or hereditary juvenile macular dystrophies (JMD) lead to a loss of central vision. Many patients compensate for this loss with a pseudo fovea in the intact peripheral retina, the so-called “preferred retinal locus” (PRL). How extensive eccentric viewing associated with central vision loss (CVL) affects brain structures responsible for visual perception and visually guided eye movements remains unknown. CVL results in a reduction of cortical gray matter in the “lesion projection zone” (LPZ) in early visual cortex, but the thickness of primary visual cortex appears to be largely preserved for eccentric-field representations. Here we explore how eccentric viewing strategies are related to cortical thickness (CT) measures in early visual cortex and in brain areas involved in the control of eye movements (frontal eye fields, FEF, supplementary eye fields, SEF, and premotor eye fields, PEF). We determined the projection zones (regions of interest, ROIs) of the PRL and of an equally peripheral area in the opposite hemifield (OppPRL) in early visual cortex (V1 and V2) in 32 patients with MD and 32 age-matched controls (19–84 years) by functional magnetic resonance imaging. Subsequently, we calculated the CT in these ROIs and compared it between PRL and OppPRL as well as between groups. Additionally, we examined the CT of FEF, SEF, and PEF and correlated it with behavioral measures like reading speed and eccentric fixation stability at the PRL. We found a significant difference between PRL and OppPRL projection zones in V1 with increased CT at the PRL, that was more pronounced in the patients, but also visible in the controls. Although the mean CT of the eye fields did not differ significantly between patients and controls, we found a trend to a positive correlation between CT in the right FEF and SEF and fixation stability in the whole patient group and between CT in the right PEF and reading speed in the JMD subgroup. The results indicate a possible association between the compensatory strategies used by patients with CVL and structural brain properties in early visual cortex and cortical eye fields.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Section: Cortical Thickness Of the Cortical Eye Fieldsmentioning

confidence: 88%

Section: Participantsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Cortical Reconstructionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Cortical Thickness Related to Compensatory Viewing Strategies in Patients With Macular Degeneration

et al. 2021

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“…In contrast to RP, commonly causing a full degradation of the visual field, MaD patients present with a focused degeneration of the macula and their peripheral vision is not damaged (Mitchell et al, 2018), despite a volumetric reduction of structures along the visual pathway (Hernowo et al, 2014) and a significant cortical atrophy across the whole occipital lobe (Beer et al, 2020;Hanson et al, 2019). It is worth noting that large-scale compensatory reorganization of cortical circuits could be set in motion by retinal degeneration in multiple areas of MaD visual cortex (Baker et al, 2005;Baseler et al, 2011;Cheung and Legge, 2005;Dilks et al, 2014;Shao et al, 2013).…”

Section: Neuroplasticity In the Time Of Retinal Disordersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neuroplasticity of the visual cortex: in sickness and in health

Baroncelli

Lunghi

2021

Experimental Neurology

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Brain plasticity refers to the ability of synaptic connections to adapt their function and structure in response to experience, including environmental changes, sensory deprivation and injuries. Plasticity is a distinctive, but not exclusive, property of the developing nervous system. This review introduces the concept of neuroplasticity and describes classic paradigms to illustrate cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying synapse modifiability. Then, we summarize a growing number of studies showing that the adult cerebral cortex retains a significant degree of plasticity highlighting how the identification of strategies to enhance the plastic potential of the adult brain could pave the way for the development of novel therapeutic approaches aimed at treating amblyopia and other neurodevelopmental disorders. Finally, we analyze how the visual system adjusts to neurodegenerative conditions leading to blindness and we discuss the crucial role of spared plasticity in the visual system for sight recovery.

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Cortical plasticity in central vision loss: Cortical thickness and neurite structure

Defenderfer

Demirayak

Fleming

et al. 2023

Human Brain Mapping

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Late‐stage macular degeneration (MD) often causes retinal lesions depriving an individual of central vision, forcing them to learn to use peripheral vision for daily tasks. To compensate, many patients develop a preferred retinal locus (PRL), an area of peripheral vision used more often than equivalent regions of spared vision. Thus, associated portions of cortex experience increased use, while portions of cortex associated with the lesion are deprived of sensory input. Prior research has not well examined the degree to which structural plasticity depends on the amount of use across the visual field. Cortical thickness, neurite density, and orientation dispersion were measured at portions of cortex associated with the PRL, the retinal lesion, and a control region in participants with MD as well as age‐matched, gender‐matched, and education‐matched controls. MD participants had significantly thinner cortex in both the cortical representation of the PRL (cPRL) and the control region, compared with controls, but no significant differences in thickness, neurite density, or orientation dispersion were found between the cPRL and the control region as functions of disease or onset. This decrease in thickness is driven by a subset of early‐onset participants whose patterns of thickness, neurite density, and neurite orientation dispersion are distinct from matched control participants. These results suggest that people who develop MD earlier in adulthood may undergo more structural plasticity than those who develop it late in life.

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Aging and central vision loss: Relationship between the cortical macro-structure and micro-structure

Cited by 17 publications

References 76 publications

Cortical Thickness Related to Compensatory Viewing Strategies in Patients With Macular Degeneration

Cortical Thickness Related to Compensatory Viewing Strategies in Patients With Macular Degeneration

Neuroplasticity of the visual cortex: in sickness and in health

Cortical plasticity in central vision loss: Cortical thickness and neurite structure

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