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Measuring Connectivity in the Primary Visual Pathway in Human Albinism Using Diffusion Tensor Imaging and Tractography
Published on: August 11, 2016
Altered anatomical network in early blindness revealed by diffusion tensor tractography.
1LIAMA Center for Computational Medicine, National Laboratory of Pattern Recognition, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
Plos One
|September 29, 2009
Summary
Early blindness alters the brain's anatomical network, decreasing connectivity and efficiency, particularly in the visual cortex. This suggests significant brain re-organization and compensatory plasticity in individuals with early visual deprivation.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Graph Theory
- Medical Imaging
Background:
- The brain's anatomical network topology reflects its structural organization.
- Graph theory measures quantify large-scale brain networks.
- Previous studies show efficient network properties in sighted individuals.
Purpose of the Study:
- Investigate changes in brain anatomical network topology in early blindness using diffusion MRI.
- Compare network properties between early blind individuals and sighted controls.
- Identify experience-dependent plasticity in the brains of the early blind.
Main Methods:
- Utilized diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to construct binary anatomical networks.
- Employed deterministic tractography to map structural connections between 90 cortical and sub-cortical regions.
- Compared topological measures (degree of connectivity, global efficiency, characteristic path length) between 17 early blind subjects and 17 controls.
Main Results:
- Early blind subjects exhibited decreased connectivity, reduced global efficiency, and increased characteristic path length compared to controls.
- Alterations were particularly pronounced in the visual cortex.
- Increased connectivity was observed in motor and somatosensory regions, suggesting compensatory plasticity.
Conclusions:
- This is the first study to demonstrate altered anatomical network topology in early blindness.
- Diffusion MRI analysis reveals significant brain re-organization in individuals with early visual deprivation.
- Findings highlight experience-dependent plasticity in response to vision loss.
