Altered white matter in early visual pathways of humans with amblyopia

• DOI: 10.1016/j.visres.2014.12.021
• Publication Date: 2015-01-20T19:31:34Z
• Authors: Brian Allen; Daniel P. Spiegel; Benjamin Thompson; Franco Pestilli; Bas Rokers
• Keywords: Adult; Male; Analysis of Variance; Brain Mapping; Middle Aged; Amblyopia; White Matter; Sensory Systems; Ophthalmology; Young Adult; 03 medical and health sciences; Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Diffusion Tensor Imaging; 0302 clinical medicine; Case-Control Studies; Neural Pathways; Humans; Female; Visual Pathways; Aged

Amblyopia is a visual disorder caused by poorly coordinated binocular input during development. Little is known about the impact of amblyopia on the white matter within the visual system. We studied the properties of six major visual white-matter pathways in a group of adults with amblyopia (n=10) and matched controls (n=10) using diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) and fiber tractography. While we did not find significant differences in diffusion properties in cortico-cortical pathways, patients with amblyopia exhibited increased mean diffusivity in thalamo-cortical visual pathways. These findings suggest that amblyopia may systematically alter the white matter properties of early visual pathways.