Gray matter alterations in visual cortex of patients with loss of central vision due to hereditary retinal dystrophies |
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Authors: | Plank Tina Frolo Jozef Brandl-Rühle Sabine Renner Agnes B Hufendiek Karsten Helbig Horst Greenlee Mark W |
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Institution: | a Institute of Psychology, University of Regensburg, Universitätsstr. 31, 93053 Regensburg, Germany;b Department of Ophthalmology, University Medical Center Regensburg, Franz-Josef-Strauss-Allee 11, 93053 Regensburg, Germany |
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Abstract: | In patients with central visual field scotomata a large part of visual cortex is not adequately stimulated. Over time this lack of input could lead to a reduction of gray matter in the affected cortical areas. We used Voxel Based Morphometry to investigate structural brain changes in patients with central scotomata due to hereditary retinal dystrophies and compared their results to those of normal sighted subjects. Additionally we correlated clinical and demographic characteristics like duration of disease, scotoma size, visual acuity, fixation stability and reading speed to the amount of gray matter in whole brain analyses within the patient group. We found a decrease in gray matter around the lesion projection zone in visual cortex of patients in comparison to controls. Gray matter loss along the posterior and middle portions of the calcarine sulcus is also correlated with scotoma size, indicating that indeed the lack of functional input provokes the gray matter alterations. In whole brain regression analyses within the patient group we found an additional cluster in the right superior and middle frontal gyri, slightly anterior to the frontal eye fields, where gray matter correlated positively with fixation stability. This could be regarded as a consequence of oculomotor learning. |
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Keywords: | Hereditary macular dystrophy Central visual field scotomas Visual cortex Voxel-based morphometry Gray matter density Gray matter volume |
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