PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Benjamin A. Rowland
AU  - Cheryl D. Bushnell
AU  - Pamela W. Duncan
AU  - Barry E. Stein
TI  - Ameliorating Hemianopia with Multisensory Training
AID  - 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0962-22.2022
DP  - 2023 Feb 08
TA  - The Journal of Neuroscience
PG  - 1018--1026
VI  - 43
IP  - 6
4099  - http://www.jneurosci.org/content/43/6/1018.short
4100  - http://www.jneurosci.org/content/43/6/1018.full
SO  - J. Neurosci.2023 Feb 08; 43
AB  - Hemianopia (unilateral blindness), a common consequence of stroke and trauma to visual cortex, is a debilitating disorder for which there are few treatments. Research in an animal model has suggested that visual-auditory stimulation therapy, which exploits the multisensory architecture of the brain, may be effective in restoring visual sensitivity in hemianopia. It was tested in two male human patients who were hemianopic for at least 8 months following a stroke. The patients were repeatedly exposed to congruent visual-auditory stimuli within their blinded hemifield during 2 h sessions over several weeks. The results were dramatic. Both recovered the ability to detect and describe visual stimuli throughout their formerly blind field within a few weeks. They could also localize these stimuli, identify some of their features, and perceive multiple visual stimuli simultaneously in both fields. These results indicate that the multisensory therapy is a rapid and effective method for restoring visual function in hemianopia.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Hemianopia (blindness on one side of space) is widely considered to be a permanent disorder. Here, we show that a simple multisensory training paradigm can ameliorate this disorder in human patients.