White matter plasticity following cataract surgery in congenitally blind patients.

ABSTRACT: The visual system develops abnormally when visual input is absent or degraded during a critical period early in life. Restoration of the visual input later in life is generally thought to have limited benefit because the visual system will lack sufficient plasticity to adapt to and utilize the information from the eyes. Recent evidence, however, shows that congenitally blind adolescents can recover both low-level and higher-level visual function following surgery. In this study, we assessed behavioral performance in both a visual acuity and a face perception task alongside longitudinal structural white matter changes in terms of fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD). We studied congenitally blind patients with dense bilateral cataracts, who received cataract surgery at diffe

SUBMITTER: Pedersini CA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10175850 | biostudies-literature | 2023 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature