Colloquium Series 2014-2015

Ben Thompson
University of Waterloo

Learning to See with a “Lazy Eye”; Harnessing Visual Cortex Plasticity to Treat Amblyopia

Amblyopia is a neurodevelopmental disorder of the visual cortex that is often considered to be untreatable in adulthood due to insufficient neural plasticity. I will present a series of studies which indicate that both binocular perceptual learning and non-invasive brain stimulation techniques can improve visual function in adult patients with amblyopia, possibly by reducing inhibitory interactions within the visual cortex. I will also present new data from a recent study on the use of the anti-depressant drug citalopram to promote visual cortex plasticity in adults with amblyopia.