Visual deficits following stroke and their recovery

Stroke is the largest single cause of severe disability in the UK. Stroke can cause damage to the area of the brain that controls vision, resulting in visual problems following stroke. For example, blurred vision, distorted vision and visual blind spots. Some patients recover, while others do not, and little is known about why there is such a variation in recovery of visual problems following stroke. This study aims to improve the understanding of the recovery of visual processing following stroke.

It is thought that one way in which recovery might occur is through changes in the brain. This ability of the brain to adapt to deficits and injury is known as plasticity. The researchers will look at the relationship between stroke patients’ visual processing and brain plasticity. Stroke patients with damage to the visual function will be recruited from an acute stroke service. Their visual function will be tested in various visual experiments at four months following stroke. The researchers will compare patients’ visual function with brain plasticity information to identify the relationship between recovery and plasticity. It is hoped that this information will help in the design of effective rehabilitation strategies or other treatments.

Scientific Title: Visual performance following ischaemic lesions of the optic radiation; recovery, pathology, and relationship to cortical plasticity

With thanks to FH Muirhead Charitable Trust for supporting this award.

Classification:
Imaging, Applied Neuroscience

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