Regaining Vision: Stroke Recovery And Sight Restoration

Vision loss is a common occurrence after a stroke, with about one-third to two-thirds of stroke survivors experiencing some form of visual impairment. While most people with vision loss after a stroke do not fully recover their eyesight, it is possible to regain some sight through intensive rehabilitation and brain training. The key to regaining vision lies in the brain's ability to structurally alter itself and form new neural connections, a concept known as neuroplasticity or brain plasticity. This allows the brain to circumvent damaged areas and process visual information through alternative pathways.

Intensive brain training can help stroke patients regain their sight

Vision loss is a common occurrence after a stroke, with about 60% of survivors sustaining some form of vision problem. However, it is a myth that vision cannot be retrained after a stroke. Intensive brain training has been shown to help stroke patients regain their sight, even years after the stroke occurred.

Understanding Vision Loss After a Stroke

Vision loss after a stroke can occur due to damage to the eye-brain connection. This can manifest as issues with eye coordination, such as double vision, or as problems with the brain's visual processing skills. In the latter case, the individual's eye muscles are intact, but their vision is impaired because the brain cannot correctly process the visual information it receives.

Brain Plasticity and Vision Rehabilitation

The brain's ability to structurally alter itself and form new connections in response to changing conditions is known as brain plasticity. This phenomenon has been a hot topic in the past decade, with significant implications for healing and regaining lost function after brain damage.

Vision rehabilitation programs, such as Vision Restoration Therapy (VRT), aim to take advantage of brain plasticity to restore vision. The basic idea is that the brain can be encouraged to create new neural pathways to process visual information, even when existing pathways have been damaged by a stroke.

Intensive Brain Training in Action

One example of intensive brain training helping stroke patients regain their sight is a study conducted by neuroscientist Krystel Huxlin and her team at the University of Rochester Eye Institute in New York. The study involved seven participants who had suffered a stroke between eight months and three and a half years prior, resulting in the loss of between a quarter and half of their field of vision.

The participants underwent an intensive course designed by neuroscientists, requiring them to spend around an hour a day at a computer for at least nine months. The exercises forced them to process visual signals with parts of their brain that had not been damaged by the stroke.

As a result of the training, the patients showed marked improvements in their vision. Some were even able to regain their driving licenses, indicating a significant restoration of their sight. The study challenged the previously held belief that vision cannot be retrained after a stroke and offered hope to stroke survivors facing vision loss.

While complete recovery of eyesight after a stroke may not be possible for everyone, intensive brain training has proven to be a promising approach to help stroke patients regain their sight. By leveraging the brain's ability to adapt and form new connections, survivors can improve their vision and regain independence in their daily lives.

Eye-training exercises can rewire the brain to improve eye functions

Vision loss is a common occurrence after a stroke, with about one-third of stroke survivors experiencing some degree of vision loss. While most people with vision loss after a stroke do not fully recover their vision, some recovery is possible, usually in the first few months. Specific eye-training exercises can help improve eye functions by rewiring the brain.

Types of Eye Problems After a Stroke

There are four main types of eye problems that can occur after a stroke:

• Central vision loss: This can affect one or both eyes, causing full or partial vision loss in the center of your vision field.
• Visual field loss: This affects your ability to see objects to the left or right of your central line of sight.
• Eye movement problems: Damage to the nerves that control eye movements can result in impaired eye movements, such as the inability to follow objects or look from object to object.
• Visual processing problems: You may experience difficulty with visual processing, such as distinguishing faces or colors, or being unaware of things in your right or left visual space.

Eye-Training Exercises to Improve Eye Functions

• Computer games: Download word search games or other visual perception games to improve your visual-tracking skills.
• Transitioning exercises: Focus on an object close to you, then switch your focus to an object farther away. Gradually increase the speed of switching between the two objects.
• Tracking exercises: Have someone hold a pencil about 18 inches from your eyes and move it slowly up and down, and side to side while you track it with your eyes. Keep your head still and move only your eyes.
• The 20-20-20 rule: When working on a computer, take a break every 20 minutes to look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds. This helps to reduce digital eye strain.
• Focus change exercise: Hold a finger a few inches away from one eye and slowly move it away from your face while focusing on it. Then, focus on an object farther away and back on your finger.
• Figure eight: Imagine a big number 8 about 10 feet in front of you and slowly trace it with your eyes, first in one direction and then the other.
• Vestibular Ocular Reflex: This exercise is particularly beneficial for children with neuro-developmental disorders. When a child moves their head, their eyes should move equally in the opposite direction.

These eye-training exercises can help stimulate the brain's vision center and improve eye functions, aiding in the recovery process after a stroke. It is important to start these exercises as soon as possible after a stroke to maximize the potential for recovery or improvement in eyesight.

Vision rehabilitation can help heal the brain and improve visual processing skills

Vision rehabilitation involves a series of vision exercises tailored to meet the specific needs and goals of each individual. These exercises can include activities like tracking moving objects with the eyes, focusing on different distances, or engaging in visual puzzles and games. By repeatedly practicing these exercises, the brain and eyes can learn to work together more efficiently.

In addition to vision exercises, vision rehabilitation also incorporates visual-cognitive activities to improve attention, memory, and problem-solving skills. Patients are often asked to complete tasks involving visual scanning, sequencing, and pattern recognition. These activities challenge the brain and encourage it to adapt and develop new strategies, optimizing brain function.

The duration of vision rehabilitation varies based on individual needs and progress. Some individuals may experience improvements within a few weeks, while others may require several months of therapy. Under the guidance of a specialist, vision rehabilitation can lead to significant improvements in visual function, independent functioning, and overall well-being.

It is important to note that the effectiveness of vision rehabilitation may depend on various factors, including the timing of the intervention, the specific training tasks used, and patient compliance. Additionally, adjuvants such as non-invasive brain stimulation and pharmacological approaches are being explored to enhance the efficacy of vision rehabilitation.

Vision Restoration Therapy (VRT) uses lights to stimulate blind spots in a patient's visual field

Vision Restoration Therapy (VRT) is a non-invasive, computer-based treatment that uses light stimulation to restore vision loss due to neurological brain damage. It is based on several decades of scientific research and is the only commercially available FDA-cleared therapy designed for this purpose. The therapy is personalised for the individual's vision deficit and is updated monthly.

During VRT, patients focus on a central point displayed on a computer screen and respond whenever they see light stimuli appear elsewhere on the screen. These light stimuli are typically presented along the border of the intact and damaged visual field. The therapy is performed twice daily, six days a week for six months. It does not require surgery or medication of any kind and can be done at home on the patient's own computer and schedule.

VRT helps to recover visual functions and enlarge the visual field. It is designed to strengthen the visual information processing of residual neuronal structures that have survived following acute lesions of the nervous system resulting from trauma, inflammation, or elective surgery for the removal of brain tumours. By repeated activation through the course of the therapy, patients can train and improve their impaired visual functions, regaining useful vision in the area of the visual field deficit.

Computer games can aid in visual perception and improve visual-tracking skills

Computer games can be used to aid in visual perception and improve visual-tracking skills. In fact, they are an important part of rehabilitation for stroke patients with visual impairments.

Types of Eye Problems After a Stroke

There are four main types of eye problems that can occur after a stroke: central vision loss, visual field loss, eye movement problems, and visual processing problems. Each type of eye issue warrants a different treatment, as each affects the brain in different ways.

How Computer Games Can Help

Word search games, for example, can be downloaded to aid in visual perception. Eye Can Learn and Lumosity also offer free games that can improve visual-tracking skills.

Action video games, in particular, have been found to produce the greatest enhancements to the visual system. These games typically require players to track multiple fast-moving objects while ignoring distractors and making quick and accurate aiming responses. This type of gameplay can enhance the ability to distribute attention over space and time, as well as the number of items that can be attended to.

Other Ways to Improve Visual Skills

Other types of eye exercises can also be done at home to improve visual skills. These include transitioning exercises, where one focuses on an object close by and then looks at an object farther away, and tracking exercises, where a pencil is moved slowly up and down and side to side, which the player must track with their eyes while keeping their head still.

Visual Recovery After a Stroke

It is possible to recover from eye injuries after a stroke, although the process may take a while. Some stroke victims notice an improvement in their eyesight and eye functions in the long term. Specific therapies can also help patients adapt to their new eyesight by retraining their brains and eye muscles to make the most of their vision.

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