Mapping Post-Stroke Vision on the Map

Strokes are common, and though today’s rapid treatment can save lives and reduce residual damage to the brain, 30 percent of patients suffer some vision loss as a consequence of stroke. Of course, the severity of damage to vision varies – as does the the physical location of disruption to the visual pathway, which can result in non-optimal treatment regimens at a time when effective action is crucial to saving sight.

Researchers from the University of Nottingham, UK, have found a way to improve our understanding of post-stroke sight – using multimodal MRI-based mapping of the brain (1) – with the aim of guiding more efficacious treatment. Typically, perimetry is used to measure the visual field following stroke, but, by mapping the brain, it is possible to establish whether the loss of visual field is caused by the absence of grey matter tissue or a disconnection between areas of cortical white matter.

The researchers hope their multi-modal approach will help both researchers and clinicians, who would be able to target and stratify patient rehabilitation to recover function in specific spots – particularly helping patients with hemianopia.