Abstract
The paper discusses and provides support for diverse processes of brain plasticity in visual function after damage in infancy and childhood in comparison with injury that occurs in the adult brain. We provide support and description of neuroplastic mechanisms in childhood that do not seemingly exist in the same way in the adult brain. Examples include the ability to foster the development of thalamocortical connectivities that can circumvent the lesion and reach their cortical destination in the occipital cortex as the developing brain is more efficient in building new connections. Supporting this claim is the fact that in those with central visual field defects we can note that the extrastriatal visual connectivities are greater when a lesion occurs earlier in life as opposed to in the neurologically mature adult. The result is a significantly more optimized system of visual and spatial exploration within the ‘blind’ field of view. The discussion is provided within the context of “blindsight” and the “Sprague Effect”.
Highlights
We intend to examine the differences between cortical visual impairment (CVI) in early life, compared to adult-onset CVI in the context of our current understanding of age-related neuroplasticity of the visual system
We intend to examine why it is that recovery of vision after visual system insult early in life has a greater chance for recovery as compared to insult occurring later in neurological development or maturity
While the geniculostriatal pathways are principally involved in blindsight in congenital, neonatal, or infant trauma to the visual system, mixed results have been found in adult-onset injury in which functional connections to the lateralgeniculo-MT pathways in the damaged hemisphere singularly govern the manifestation of blindsight [156]
Summary
We intend to examine the differences between cortical visual impairment (CVI) in early life, compared to adult-onset CVI in the context of our current understanding of age-related neuroplasticity of the visual system. Bouwmeester and colleagues [106] found no support that limited broadening of visual field results in improved ocular motor scanning strategies or improvement in activities of daily living This may be a consequence of the paucity of studies examining functions such as contrast sensitivity or line and edge detection in stroke in childhood or the lack of data on blindsight and certainly on the Sprague Effect in childhood CVI. There is much support since for the notion that early developmental lesions, especially those that are congenital, are significantly more disposed to neuroplastic restructuring with the developing nervous system being more likely to employ compensatory pathways to counteract the effects of damaged brain areas thereby restoring functional vision. Differences between Early Life Visual System Insult and Adult-Onset Blindsight
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