Structural, Functional and Chemical Assessments of the Visual Pathway in Vision Loss

This project aims to examine the effects of vision loss on the visual part of
the human brain. In a group of participants diagnosed with vision loss
resulting from either central or peripheral damage, or both, clinical
assessments of the eye will be compared with neuroimaging measures of
the brain.
Neuroimaging research has revealed significant changes in the brain
of patients with vision loss particularly in areas which process information
usually sent from the damaged part of the eye. What has yet to be
established is 1) whether these changes represent a) atrophy, i.e. shrinkage of
the visual part of the brain or b) degeneration, i.e. cell death in the visual part of
the brain and 2) to what extent changes in the eye limit changes in the
brain. To assess changes to the brain associated with vision loss,
participants will undergo brain imaging sessions at the University of York.
Comparatively, changes to the eye associated with vision loss will be
assessed at York Teaching Hospital.