Functional and structural brain modifications induced by oculomotor training in patients with age-related macular degeneration T Plank1, K Rosengarth1, I R Keck1, S Brandl-Rühle2, J Frolo1, K Hufendiek2, M W Greenlee1 |
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1Institute for Experimental Psychology, University of Regensburg, Germany |
| Patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) are reliant on their efficient use of the peripheral visual field. Oculomotor training can help them to find the best suited area on intact peripheral retina to efficiently stabilize eccentric fixation. In this study nine patients with AMD were trained over a period of six months to improve their fixation stability. Seven healthy age-matched subjects, who did not take part in training, were used as a control group. During the six months of training the AMD subjects and the control group took part in three functional and structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) sessions to assess training-related changes in the brain function and structure. AMD patients benefited from the training as indexed by significant improvements in their fixation stability, visual acuity and reading speed. The patients showed a significant positive correlation between brain activation changes in the visual cortex and improvements in fixation stability. We also found a significant increase in gray and white matter in the posterior cerebellum after training in the patient group. Our results indicate that functional and structural brain changes are associated with benefits from oculomotor training in AMD patients with central scotomata. |
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