Neural Plasticity

Role of Visual Cortical Plasticity in the Development and Treatment of Amblyopia and other Neurodevelopmental Disorders


Publishing date
01 Oct 2019
Status
Closed
Submission deadline
31 May 2019

Lead Editor

1McMaster University, Ontario, Canada

2Ecole Normale Supérieure, Paris, France

3Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, USA

4University of Maryland, College Park, USA

5Waterloo University, Waterloo, Canada

This issue is now closed for submissions.

Role of Visual Cortical Plasticity in the Development and Treatment of Amblyopia and other Neurodevelopmental Disorders

This issue is now closed for submissions.

Description

Early visual experience has enduring effects on brain development, and when that experience is abnormal, the maladaptive impact on the central visual pathway and visual perception can be profound. Abnormal vision during a critical period in early development can cause amblyopia (lazy-eye) which is the leading cause of vision impairment in children. Early treatment with patching therapy can improve visual acuity, but visual deficits persist in almost 50% of amblyopic children. Furthermore, the visual deficits are not restricted to acuity but impact all aspects of visual perception and may not emerge until late childhood or teens years.

Studies using animal models or humans with amblyopia have found cortical changes linked to poor vision and a loss of plasticity that may be the culprit hindering recovery. A range of treatment paradigms have also been examined, but it is still an open question how best to harness visual cortical plasticity to promote good long-lasting recovery of vision.

Recent studies have also found other types of abnormal early experience, including abnormal gene expression that can cause poor visual perception and loss of visual cortical plasticity. These new models suggest other mechanisms that may be used to promote recovery.

Therefore, there is a need to understand the visual and neural changes linked with amblyopia and other neurodevelopmental disorders. Furthermore, comparing the similarities and differences among neurodevelopmental disorders may help to identify new types of biologically inspired therapies for poor visual perception.

Potential topics include but are not limited to the following:

  • Experience-dependent plasticity mechanisms in visual cortical areas during development or adults
  • Molecular mechanisms that enhance or hinder plasticity in visual cortical areas in amblyopia or other neurodevelopmental disorders (e.g., Rett syndrome, Angelman syndrome, Schizophrenia, Fragile X, ASD, and dyslexia)
  • Visual perception changes associated with amblyopia or other neurodevelopmental disorders
  • Genetic variants in neurodevelopmental disorders that cause maladaptive visual cortical plasticity and poor vision
  • Preclinical models for treatments that improve vision in amblyopia or other neurodevelopmental disorders

Articles

  • Special Issue
  • - Volume 2020
  • - Article ID 1673897
  • - Research Article

Systematic Analysis of Environmental Chemicals That Dysregulate Critical Period Plasticity-Related Gene Expression Reveals Common Pathways That Mimic Immune Response to Pathogen

Milo R. Smith | Priscilla Yevoo | ... | Hirofumi Morishita
  • Special Issue
  • - Volume 2019
  • - Article ID 2724101
  • - Review Article

Studying Cortical Plasticity in Ophthalmic and Neurological Disorders: From Stimulus-Driven to Cortical Circuitry Modeling Approaches

Joana Carvalho | Remco J. Renken | Frans W. Cornelissen
  • Special Issue
  • - Volume 2019
  • - Article ID 3198285
  • - Research Article

Modification of Peak Plasticity Induced by Brief Dark Exposure

Alexander J. Lingley | Donald E. Mitchell | ... | Kevin R. Duffy
  • Special Issue
  • - Volume 2019
  • - Article ID 2564018
  • - Research Article

Classification of Visual Cortex Plasticity Phenotypes following Treatment for Amblyopia

Justin L. Balsor | David G. Jones | Kathryn M. Murphy
  • Special Issue
  • - Volume 2019
  • - Article ID 6067871
  • - Research Article

Stimulus- and Neural-Referred Visual Receptive Field Properties following Hemispherectomy: A Case Study Revisited

Hinke N. Halbertsma | Koen V. Haak | Frans W. Cornelissen
  • Special Issue
  • - Volume 2019
  • - Article ID 1538137
  • - Review Article

Emerging Roles of Synapse Organizers in the Regulation of Critical Periods

Adema Ribic | Thomas Biederer
  • Special Issue
  • - Volume 2019
  • - Article ID 6208414
  • - Research Article

Contribution of Short-Time Occlusion of the Amblyopic Eye to a Passive Dichoptic Video Treatment for Amblyopia beyond the Critical Period

Lauren Sauvan | Natacha Stolowy | ... | Alexandre Reynaud
  • Special Issue
  • - Volume 2019
  • - Article ID 3681430
  • - Research Article

Altered Spontaneous Brain Activity of Children with Unilateral Amblyopia: A Resting State fMRI Study

Peishan Dai | Jinlong Zhang | ... | Manyi Xiao
  • Special Issue
  • - Volume 2019
  • - Article ID 6817839
  • - Review Article

Visuomotor Behaviour in Amblyopia: Deficits and Compensatory Adaptations

Ewa Niechwiej-Szwedo | Linda Colpa | Agnes M. F. Wong
  • Special Issue
  • - Volume 2019
  • - Article ID 5857243
  • - Clinical Study

The Effect of Combined Patching and Citalopram on Visual Acuity in Adults with Amblyopia: A Randomized, Crossover, Placebo-Controlled Trial

Alice K. Lagas | Joanna M. Black | ... | Benjamin Thompson
Neural Plasticity
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Acceptance rate12%
Submission to final decision134 days
Acceptance to publication26 days
CiteScore5.700
Journal Citation Indicator0.610
Impact Factor3.1
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