Large-scale remapping of visual cortex is absent in adult humans with macular degeneration

Heidi Ann Baseler (1) , Andre Gouws (1) , Koen V Haak (1) , Christopher Racey (1) , Michael Crossland (1) , Adnan Tufail (1) , Gary Stuart Rubin (1) , Frans W Cornelissen (1) , Antony Bryan Morland (1)

1 York Neuroimaging Centre

The occipital lobe contains a retinotopic representation of the visual field. The representation of the central retina in early visual areas (V1-3) is found at the occipital pole. When the central retina is lesioned in both eyes by macular degeneration, this region of visual cortex at the occipital pole is accordingly deprived of input. However, even when such lesions occur in adulthood, some visually driven activity in and around the occipital pole can be observed. It has been suggested that this activity is due to remapping of this area, so that it now responds to inputs from intact, peripheral retina. We evaluated whether or not remapping of visual cortex underlies this activity. Our fMRI results provide no evidence of remapping, questioning the contemporary view that early visual areas of the adult human brain have the capacity to reorganize extensively.

Mots clés: Sensory Systems; Plasticity; Neuroimaging

Heidi Ann Baseler, Andre Gouws, Koen V Haak, Christopher Racey, Michael Crossland, et al.. Large-scale remapping of visual cortex is absent in adult humans with macular degeneration. Nature Neuroscience, 2011, ⟨10.1038/nn.2793⟩. ⟨hal-00626735⟩