Affiliations: Institut für Medizinische Psychologie,
Otto-von-Guericke Universität Magdeburg, Leipziger Str. 44, 39120
Magdeburg | Center for Innovative Visual Rehabilitation, Boston VA
Medical Center, Mail Sop 151E, 150 South Huntington Ave, Boston, MA 02130;
USA | Center for Biomedical Imaging, Boston University
Medical School, Anatomy and Neurobiology, 650 Albany Street, Boston, MA 02118,
USA | Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences,
Stanford University School of Medicine, 401 Quarry Road, Stanford, CA 94305,
USA
Note: [] Korrespondenzadresse: Prof. Dr. Bernhard A. Sabel, Institut
für Medizinische Psychologie, Otto-von-Guericke Universität Magdeburg
– Medizinische Fakultät, Leipziger Str. 44, 39120 Magdeburg. Tel.:
+49-391-6117100; Fax: +49-391-6117103; E-mail:
[email protected]
Abstract: Improvement of residual vision by visuo-spatial cueing in patients
with homonymous visual field loss Objectives: In areas of residual vision of patients with visual
field defects, perceptual thresholds are elevated. Can visual performance of
patients – like in healthy subjects – be improved by orienting
attention at the visual field border with a spatial cue? Methods: Experiment 1: Test of immediate, short-term effects of
attention of a spatial cue in a visual field test. Experiment 2: Use of the
same cue in a training program for the restoration of visual functions
(experimental group) and comparison with the effects of visual field training
without a cue (control group). Results: Experiment 1: Compared to uncued conditions, stimulus
detection was increased and reaction times were decreased after presentation of
a cue. The size of the attention effect depended on the size of the area of
residual vision. Experiment 2: The experimental group showed a more pronounced
permanent increase of intact field size in the cued area than in unattended
regions or than the control group. The cue changed the topographical pattern of
visual field plasticity. Conclusion: A systematic combination of light stimulation
(bottom-up) at the visual field border with spatial attention (top-down) yields
short-term as well as long-term improvement of visual function that is more
pronounced than the effects of light stimulation alone. Cognitive processes
established in research with healthy subjects can be implemented in
neuropsychological rehabilitation to improve treatment outcome.
Keywords: Brain plasticity, spatial attention, visual field training, recovery of function
