Abstract
Macular degeneration (MD) results in reduced central vision and can be debilitating; impairing tasks of daily living such as reading, driving and recognizing faces. However, most patients with MD develop the ability to use peripheral vision for many tasks of daily living. We are interested in understanding how top-down control of visual cortical circuitry influences this process. Here, we address this question by examining functional connectivity between retinopically distinct parts of V1 and the rest of cortex. Using resting BOLD fMRI in MD patients and age, gender, and education-matched controls, we measured functional connectivity between different eccentricity bands within primary visual cortex to other regions within the cortex. V1 regions were defined based on individual anatomy, and non-V1 regions were defined based on published parcellation schemes. Local connectivity between sectors of V1 representing different eccentricities was stronger in Controls than in MD participants, consistent with Controls' more frequent integrated use of different parts of vision. Differences in connectivity to other parts of cortex depended on the eccentricity within V1. Generally, the strength of V1 connectivity to frontal and parietal areas was stronger in MD patients than controls. This finding is consistent with the hypothesis that MD participants develop stronger top-down control of visual information and will inform future work refining this hypothesis.
Meeting abstract presented at VSS 2016