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Long-term deprivation affects visual perception and cortex

Nature Neuroscience volume 6, pages 915–916 (2003)Cite this article

Abstract

Recovery after long-term blindness was first studied1 in 1793, but few cases have been reported since2,3,4,5,6,7. We combined psychophysical and neuroimaging techniques to characterize the effects of long-term visual deprivation on human cortex.

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Figure 1: (a) MM's sensitivity as a function of spatial frequency measured psychophysically using a method of adjustment 5–21 months after surgery.
Figure 2: Stimuli, tasks and performance for tests of MM's form, depth and motion processing.
Figure 3: Left hemisphere activation in response to faces versus objects, regions responding at a coherence value above 0.4.

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Acknowledgements

Thanks to V. Iragui for performing VEP and ERG studies, and to S.A. Anstis, E. Holland and H.S. Smallman for help and advice.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, 92093, California, USA

    Ione Fine & Donald I A MacLeod

  2. Smith Kettlewell Eye Research Institute, 2318 Fillmore Street, San Francisco, 94115, California, USA

    Alex R Wade

  3. Stanford University Department of Neuroscience, Stanford, 94305, California, USA

    Alyssa A Brewer & Brian A Wandell

  4. Stanford University Department of Psychology, Stanford, 94305, California, USA

    Brian A Wandell

  5. Sendero Group, LLC, 175 Mason Circle, Concord, 94520, California, USA

    Michael G May

  6. California Pacific Medical Center, 1199 Bush Street, Suite 350, San Francisco, 94109, California, USA

    Daniel F Goodman

  7. The Salk Institute, 10010 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, 93037, California, USA

    Geoffrey M Boynton

Authors
  1. Ione Fine
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  2. Alex R Wade
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  3. Alyssa A Brewer
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  4. Michael G May
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  5. Daniel F Goodman
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  6. Geoffrey M Boynton
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  7. Brian A Wandell
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  8. Donald I A MacLeod
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ione Fine.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

Supplementary information

Supplementary Fig. 1.

Eye-tracking traces for MM and a normal control observer viewing wedge and ring retinotopic mapping stimuli. (a) x and y traces while MM viewed the expanding ring stimulus. (b) x and y traces while MM viewed the rotating wedge stimulus. (c) x and y traces while a control observer viewed the expanding ring stimulus. (GIF 74 kb)

Supplementary Note (PDF 21 kb)

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Fine, I., Wade, A., Brewer, A. et al. Long-term deprivation affects visual perception and cortex. Nat Neurosci 6, 915–916 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1038/nn1102

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