Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 31, 2026

A Gaze-Contingent Display Framework for Perceptual Learning Research with Simulated Central Vision Loss
Published on: April 11, 2025
Lack of spatial remapping of the visual field surrounding a monocular scotoma
1Division of Neurobiology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA. gwestheimer@berkeley.edu
Background:
Changes in cortical receptive fields following deafferentation raise the question of whether interruption of optic nerve fibres engenders spatial distortion in the region bordering the resulting scotoma.
Methods:
The regularity and uniformity of the spatial metric surrounding a monocular Bjerrum scotoma were studied in both the affected and unaffected eyes of a glaucoma patient, using rigorous psychometric measurements and Amsler grid observations.
Results:
No expansion of distances towards the edge of the scotoma was found; however, such a change occurs at the border of the normal blind spot, though not binocularly and not in the corresponding field of the other eye.
Conclusion:
The findings argue against cortical reorganisation following monocular retinal deafferentation in the adult.
Related Concept Videos
Depth Perception and Spatial Vision
Visual Agnosia
Anatomy of the Eyeball
Photoreceptors and Visual Pathways
Focusing of Light in the Eye
Prosopagnosia
