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Visual cortex in aging and Alzheimer's disease: changes in visual field maps and population receptive fields
Alyssa A Brewer1, Brian Barton1
1Laboratory of Visual Neuroscience, Department of Cognitive Sciences, Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, University of California Irvine, CA, USA.
Frontiers in Psychology
|February 27, 2014
Summary
Healthy aging alters visual cortex, reducing surface area and increasing receptive field size in areas V1, V2, and hV4. This study also explores these changes in Alzheimer's disease (AD) for potential early detection.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Visual Neuroscience
- Aging Research
Background:
- Age-related visual deficits are common, but changes in the visual cortex beyond primary visual cortex (V1) during healthy aging are poorly understood.
- Visual cortex alterations are also implicated in Alzheimer's disease (AD), a common dementia, yet remain largely uncharacterized in AD patients.
- Understanding these changes is crucial for both comprehending normal aging and developing diagnostic tools for AD.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate age-related changes in visual cortex organization and population receptive fields (pRFs) in areas V1, V2, V3, and hV4.
- To compare these changes between healthy young adults and healthy aging individuals.
- To explore the feasibility of these measurements in mild Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients for potential early detection.
Main Methods:
- Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to map visual field representations (VFMs) and population receptive fields (pRFs).
- Comparisons were made between young adults, healthy aging subjects, and two patients with mild AD.
- Measurements included VFM organization, pRF size, and cortical surface area in occipital visual areas.
Main Results:
- Healthy aging subjects showed no major VFM organizational deficits but exhibited reduced surface area and enlarged pRFs in foveal representations of V1, V2, and hV4 compared to young adults.
- These findings in healthy aging align with known behavioral visual deficits.
- Preliminary data from two mild AD patients suggest potential changes in the visual cortex, demonstrating the feasibility of this approach.
Conclusions:
- Healthy aging is associated with specific alterations in visual cortex structure and function, particularly in areas V1, V2, and hV4.
- These findings provide a baseline for understanding visual processing changes in normal aging.
- This research lays the groundwork for future studies on visual cortex alterations in AD, potentially aiding in earlier diagnosis and treatment.
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