Brief Postnatal Visual Deprivation Triggers Long-Lasting Interactive Structural and Functional Reorganization of the Human Cortex

Overview

Journal Front Med (Lausanne)

Specialty General Medicine

Date 2021 Dec 6

PMID 34869446

Citations 2

Authors

Yixuan Feng

Olivier Collignon

Daphne Maurer

Ke Yao

Xiaoqing Gao

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Patients treated for bilateral congenital cataracts provide a unique model to test the role of early visual input in shaping the development of the human cortex. Previous studies showed that brief early visual deprivation triggers long-lasting changes in the human visual cortex. However, it remains unknown if such changes interact with the development of other parts of the cortex. With high-resolution structural and resting-state fMRI images, we found changes in cortical thickness within, but not limited to, the visual cortex in adult patients, who experienced transient visual deprivation early in life as a result of congenital cataracts. Importantly, the covariation of cortical thickness across regions was also altered in the patients. The areas with altered cortical thickness in patients also showed differences in functional connectivity between patients and normally sighted controls. Together, the current findings suggest an impact of early visual deprivation on the interactive development of the human cortex.

Citing Articles

Anatomical and Functional Impacts of Congenital Bilateral Visual Deprivation on the Visual Pathway-A Comprehensive Review.

Czarnek-Chudzik A, Toro M, Rejdak R, Nowomiejska K J Clin Med. 2024; 13(6).

PMID: 38541998 PMC: 10971187. DOI: 10.3390/jcm13061775.

Gyrification in relation to cortical thickness in the congenitally blind.

Arend I, Yuen K, Yizhar O, Chebat D, Amedi A Front Neurosci. 2022; 16:970878.

PMID: 36440286 PMC: 9682146. DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2022.970878.

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