Neural Restoration Training improves visual functions and expands visual field of patients with homonymous visual field defects
| Autor: | Michele Barollo, Giulio Contemori, Luca Battaglini, Clara Casco |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2018 |
| Předmět: |
Neuro Restoration Training
visual field Adult Male medicine.medical_specialty genetic structures Eye Movements Computer science media_common.quotation_subject Visual rehabilitation Audiology 050105 experimental psychology Functional Laterality Statistics Nonparametric Letter recognition 03 medical and health sciences Hemianopia 0302 clinical medicine Developmental Neuroscience Perception medicine Humans 0501 psychology and cognitive sciences media_common contrast sensitivity Analysis of Variance training Flicker 05 social sciences Training (meteorology) Stroke Rehabilitation Eye movement Recovery of Function Middle Aged eye diseases Visual field Partial blindness Stroke Neurology Pattern Recognition Visual Therapy Computer-Assisted Hemianopsia Visual Field Tests Female Neurology (clinical) Visual Fields 030217 neurology & neurosurgery |
| Zdroj: | Restorative neurology and neuroscience. 36(2) |
| ISSN: | 1878-3627 |
| Popis: | Background In recent years, the introduction of visual rehabilitation for patients with homonymous visual field defects has been met with both enthusiasm and caution. Despite the evidence that restitutive training results in expansion of the visual field, several concerns have been raised. Objective We tested the effectiveness of a new rehabilitative protocol called "Neuro Restoration Training" (NRT) in reducing visual field defects and in restituting visual functions in the restored hemianopic area. Methods Ten patients with homonymous visual field defects (lesion age >6 months) where trained in detecting low contrast Gabor patches randomly presented in the blind field, which refers to regions of 0 dB sensitivity, and along the hemianopic boundary between absolute (0 dB) and partial blindness (>0 dB). Training included static, drifting, and flickering Gabors in different blocks. Positions along the hemianopic boundary were systematically shifted toward the blind field according to the threshold reduction during the training. Before and after the training, we assessed visual field expansion and improvement in different high-level transfer tasks (i.e., letter identification and shape recognition) performed in the hemianopic boundary and in the blind field. Results NRT led to significant visual field enlargement (≈5 deg), as indicated by the conventional Humphrey perimetry, and two custom made evaluations of visual field expansion with eye movement control (one static and one dynamic). The restored area acquired new visual functions such as small letter recognition and perception of moving shapes. Finally, for some patients, NRT also improved detection, either aware or not, of high contrast flickering grating and recognition of geometrical shapes entirely presented within the blind field. Conclusion These results suggest that NRT may lead to visual field enlargement and translate into untrained visual functions. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
| Externí odkaz: |
|