Dong Wha Kang
Posters-Accepted Abstracts: J Neurol Neurophysiol
Although visual field defect (VFD) is a common sequele of brain damage, the rehabilitation for VFD is still very limited.
We tried to evaluate the efficacy of novel approach, i.e. visual perceptual learning (VPL), for the treatment of VFD, and
to investigate neural mechanism underlying improvement of VFD with the use of functional connectivity MRI (fcMRI). We
hypothesized that repeated visual stimuli on the blind visual field might induce VPL accompanied by enhancement of interhemispheric
functional connectivity. Chronic stroke patients with VFD were trained 36 times for 3 months (training group, n
= 10). Perimetry and fcMRI were done four times (i.e. pre-training, 1-month, 2-month, and 3-month post-training). Another
chronic stroke patients with VFD underwent perimetry and fcMRI twice with 3-month interval without visual training (control
group, n = 10). In training group, VPL was induced in the majority of patients, and visual field scores from baseline to posttraining
significantly improved compared with control group. Improvement of visual field scores was significantly associated with
increased inter-hemispheric functional connectivity between visual cortices. These data demonstrate that VPL occurs in the blind
visual field in chronic stroke patients. VPL may induce visual field recovery through inter-hemispheric functional connection.
