Scientist explore how brain adjusts to macular degeneration.

HealthDay (3/3, McKeever) reported that, according to a study published in the March 4 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience, “when macular degeneration causes one to start losing…sight, the affected neurons simply start seeking visual input from other, non-affected parts of the eye.” Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology “found when the cells in the fovea, the part of the retina responsible for the central field of vision, were damaged by macular degeneration (MD) — the neuron attached to them” began “responding to stimuli in an undamaged section — a type of internal reorganization of the eye’s visual map as opposed to the cortex’s work being shifting to other neurons.” HealthDay also noted that MD patients “often compensate for lack of central vision by rolling their eyes upward so they can utilize the preferred retinal locus,” which is “an undamaged area under and adjacent to the affected part of the retina.”