Article

Homonymous visual field loss is a common consequence of stroke and traumatic
brain injury. It is associated with an adverse functional prognosis and has
implications on day-to-day activities such as driving, reading, and safe
navigation. Early recovery is expected in around half of cases, and may be
associated with a return in V1 activity. In stable disease, recovery is unlikely
beyond 3 and certainly 6 months. Rehabilitative approaches generally target three
main areas, encompassing a range of techniques with variable success: visual aids
aim to expand or relocate the affected visual field; eye movement training builds
upon compensatory strategies to improve explorative saccades; visual field
restitution aims to improve visual processing within the damaged field itself.
All these approaches seem to offer modest improvements with repeated practice,
with none clearly superior to the rest. However, a number of areas are
demonstrating particular promise currently, including simple web-based training
initiatives, and work on neuroimaging and learning. The research interest in this
area is encouraging, and it is to be hoped that future trials can better untangle
and control for the number of complicated confounds, so that we will be in a much
better position to evaluate and select the most appropriate therapy for patients.
CI - Copyright (c) 2012 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Langue : ANGLAIS