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Human vision is a truly astonishing marvel of nature. Sight depends on the complex interplay between the eyes that capture light and shapes in the world and the brain that processes this visual information.
Now, researchers are experimenting with ways to strengthen these neural connections in order to alleviate the symptoms of certain visual conditions. A new study published in Cell Reports explores the possibility of “rebooting” the eye’s connection to the brain by taking the retina offline for a couple days. Researchers are hopeful that this procedure may be able to treat lazy eye in the future.
Restoring Neural Connections
Amblyopia or lazy eye is a condition which millions of Americans suffer from, according to Popular Mechanics. This condition occurs when the brain prioritizes receiving signals from one eye over the second one, leading to vision loss in the lazy eye.
Currently, doctors use eye drops, eye patches, and sometimes surgery to mitigate vision loss caused by amblyopia. However, these treatments require patients to remember and keep up with the use of daily medicine and they aren’t always fully effective, especially for adults with amblyopia.
Now, new research suggests that it might be possible to restore the neural connections to the lazy eye by injecting it with a natural toxin found in pufferfish and porcupines that temporarily blocks the signals from the eye to the visual cortex. If shown to be effective, this could become a faster and more effective way to restore vision for individuals with amblyopia.
A Signal Burst
This latest research piggybacks on previous findings about how vision develops in utero and early childhood, according to MIT News. When the lateral geniculate nucleus, the nerve that transmits messages from the eye to the brain, first develops, early in life, its neurons fire bursts of electrical signals.
Bursts similar to the ones that occur during early development were also observed when fully-developed retinas were blocked from sending visual information to the neurons. Researchers hypothesized that by disrupting visual signals and therefore causing these neurons to fire they could actually reboot the eye to an initial developmental stage.
In doing so, they could restore the parity of neural connections to both eyes that is disrupted in individuals with amblyopia where the connection to one eye is prioritized.
Rebooting the Eye
To test this theory, the team injected an anesthetic called tetrodotoxin into the lazy eye of lab animals with amblyopia, temporarily severing the retinal connection for a period of two days. Researchers observed that the application of anesthesia indeed stimulated the characteristic bursts of neural activity.
After a week, tests showed that the neurons in the visual cortex were much more likely to be equally responsive to both eyes than previously, suggesting that this intervention could reboot a lazy eye restoring the brain’s equal attention to that eye.
In the past, anesthetizing the non-lazy eye or anesthetizing both eyes was shown to have a therapeutic effect on restoring vision in a lazy eye, Popular Mechanics explains. However, this study is the first of its kind to suggest that taking just the less-functional eye offline is sufficient to restore vision to both eyes, suggesting that a more convenient treatment for amblyopia may be available in the future.
For now, the team plans to continue to study the safety and efficacy of injecting anesthesia into the eye, keeping in mind the complexity of human eyes. When and if the procedure is proven to be harmless in lab settings, clinical trials can begin in humans.
Although much research still lies ahead, this discovery offers promising hope for the millions affected by amblyopia. By revealing a potential biological reset button that can restore vital visual connections, it opens the door to faster, safer, and more effective treatments in the future. As scientists continue to explore this innovative approach, the possibility of restoring stronger, healthier vision comes one step closer to reality.
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