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Carvalho J, Invernizzi A, Martins J, Renken RJ, Cornelissen FW. Local neuroplasticity in adult glaucomatous visual cortex. Sci Rep 2022; 12:21981. [PMID: 36539453 PMCID: PMC9767937 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-24709-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2022] [Accepted: 11/18/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The degree to which the adult human visual cortex retains the ability to functionally adapt to damage at the level of the eye remains ill-understood. Previous studies on cortical neuroplasticity primarily focused on the consequences of foveal visual field defects (VFD), yet these findings may not generalize to peripheral defects such as occur in glaucoma. Moreover, recent findings on neuroplasticity are often based on population receptive field (pRF) mapping, but interpreting these results is complicated in the absence of appropriate control conditions. Here, we used fMRI-based neural modeling to assess putative changes in pRFs associated with glaucomatous VFD. We compared the fMRI-signals and pRF in glaucoma participants to those of controls with case-matched simulated VFD. We found that the amplitude of the fMRI-signal is reduced in glaucoma compared to control participants and correlated with disease severity. Furthermore, while coarse retinotopic structure is maintained in all participants with glaucoma, we observed local pRF shifts and enlargements in early visual areas, relative to control participants. These differences suggest that the adult brain retains some degree of local neuroplasticity. This finding has translational relevance, as it is consistent with VFD masking, which prevents glaucoma patients from noticing their VFD and seeking timely treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joana Carvalho
- grid.4494.d0000 0000 9558 4598Laboratory of Experimental Ophthalmology, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands ,grid.421010.60000 0004 0453 9636Pre-Clinical MRI Laboratory, Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown, Avenida de Brasilia, 1400-038 Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Azzurra Invernizzi
- grid.4494.d0000 0000 9558 4598Laboratory of Experimental Ophthalmology, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands ,grid.59734.3c0000 0001 0670 2351Department of Environmental Medicine and Public Health, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY USA
| | - Joana Martins
- grid.4494.d0000 0000 9558 4598Laboratory of Experimental Ophthalmology, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Remco J. Renken
- grid.4494.d0000 0000 9558 4598Laboratory of Experimental Ophthalmology, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands ,grid.4494.d0000 0000 9558 4598Cognitive Neuroscience Center, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Frans W. Cornelissen
- grid.4494.d0000 0000 9558 4598Laboratory of Experimental Ophthalmology, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
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