How brain plasticity shapes recovery of vision

Injury creates a fertile environment allowing for plasticity mechanisms to shape recovery. The ability of the brain to reorganize synaptic connections or rebuild the bridge between disconnected neurons following injury or stroke, underlies choices for rehabilitation therapy. We aim to understand such plasticity mechanisms using one of the most studied models, the visual system. Lesions of the primary visual cortex led to marked shrinkage and neuronal loss in the corresponding regions of the thalamus. Despite significant neuronal loss, our studies have shown that some neurons survive degeneration and make a viable pathway for the transfer of visual information. This project aims to investigate plastic changes in the visual pathway and their role in vision recovery after injury or stroke.