fMRI Study Shows Specific Visual Training Effect on Brain Activity

July 30, 2008 - PRLog -- (New York / Magdeburg) – Columbia University Medical Center researchers have demonstrated, using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), that brain activity was increased in stroke survivors who underwent Vision Restoration Therapy (VRT), a rehabilitative treatment that helps these patients recover lost vision. The data have been published in the journal Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair on April 1, 2008.

Researchers, led by Randolph S. Marshall, M.D., M.S., associate professor of clinical neurology and acting director, Division of Stroke and Critical Care at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, examined the fMRIs of six patients aged 35-77 with vision loss on the same side of both eyes (homonymous hemianopia) caused by stroke. The therapy is based on visual stimulation, which the patient performs daily at home on a dedicated computer device. The fMRI data showed increased activity in visual processing areas of the brain as patients learned to detect stimuli in the borderzone between the seeing and non-seeing fields. This enhanced activity was identified one month after beginning treatment and suggests that the brain is responding accordingly.

“This study is encouraging because the fMRI technique allowed us to see and compare the activity levels in specific regions of the brain before and during Vision Restoration Therapy. After examining the images, the increased activity levels demonstrate progress associated with the treatment,” said Dr. Marshall. “Based on these initial results, we will continue to investigate the relationship between the imaging findings and the degree to which vision is recovered.”

The findings underscore the growing scientific evidence validating Vision Restoration Therapy. For stroke and brain injury survivors with impaired vision, these data further show that VRT may help them regain lost sight – and ultimately help them reclaim their independence.

Developed in Germany VRT is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat vision problems in people who have been left partially blind due to stroke or brain trauma. Customized treatment is created from a comprehensive diagnostics that map the seeing and non-seeing areas of vision. Patients perform the therapy daily at home for six to seven months, gradually improving their vision through the repeated detection of light stimuli directed at the border between the seeing and blind areas of the visual field.

Vision Restoration Therapy is currently offered in U.K. in Bristol by Janice Juul, an optometrist with a lot of neurological experience (70 Alma Road, BS8 2DJ Clifton Bristol).

For more information please visit www.vision-impairment.com or call +49(0)391-6360050.

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About NovaVision: NovaVision offers the Vision Restoration Therapy (VRT) - a vision therapy that was developed and clinically tested based on longtime neuropsychological research carried out by the Institute of Medical Psychology of the Magdeburg University.
Over 1200 patients with vision impairments following a stroke, head injury or brain tumor have been treated with the VRT so far. Clinical studies show that over 65% of patients treated with VRT have achieved measurable improvements in their vision and thereby regained an important part of their lost quality of life.
VRT uses the neuroplasticity of the visual system by stimulating the surviving neurons (nerve cells) in the partially damaged zones (areas of residual vision).
Following 6 months of vision therapy in the familiar surroundings of their homes at their own computers, many of our patients are able to recover their ability to read and pursue leisure and work activities without medication, surgeries or a hospital stay.