Effects of prism adaptation on space perception following chronic and reversible cortical lesions [ 2007 - 2009 ]

Research Grant

Researchers: Prof Jason Mattingley (Principal investigator) ,  Dr Ranmalee Eramudugolla ,  Prof Dexter Irvine

Brief description Damage to one side of the brain following a stroke often produces a debilitating disorder called spatial neglect. Affected patients persistently ignore objects, sounds or touches on the side of space opposite their brain injury. This disorder occurs despite normal sensory function, and reflects damage to the brain's internal representations of one side of space, causing patients to behave as if that side of space no longer exists. Spatial neglect is difficult to rehabilitate and is a major predictor of poor functional recovery after stroke, but there are no effective treatments for it. A promising new treatment for spatial neglect has been recently discovered, which involves patients practicing pointing to a visual target while wearing spectacle-mounted prism lenses that systematically correct for their altered view of the world. Following a brief period of this training, patients' show increased ability to perceive visual objects presented to the previously neglected side of space. Studies have shown that the prism treatment can have long-term benefits for many neglect sufferers. However, it is not known what the brain mechanisms underlying the treatment effects are, and to what degree the effects generalize to all affected senses. The proposed project aims to investigate whether prism treatment ameliorates spatial neglect of sounds as well as visual objects in a group of stroke patients. The project will also systematically examine which part of the brain is critical for the beneficial effects of prism treatment by using focal magnetic stimulation to create reversible, virtual lesions in the brains of healthy participants. Addressing these issues has clear implications for identifying suitable candidates for the treatment, and for understanding how the sensory world is represented in the human brain.

Funding Amount $AUD 319,336.68

Funding Scheme NHMRC Project Grants

Notes Standard Project Grant