Waterloo Scientists Search for Adult Amblyopia Treatment

Thursday, March 3 2016 | 00 h 00 min | Vision Science

In a paper published in the February issue of Scientific Reports, researchers at the University of Waterloo have shown that low voltage electrical currents temporarily improve vision in adult patients with amblyopia.

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), which increases activity in the primary visual cortex, has previously been shown to increase adult neuroplasticity. In this study, it was shown that tDCS increased the brain’s response to information from the lazy eye and improvement in the ability of the patient to see contrast.

“It’s a long held view that adults can’t be treated for lazy eye because their brains no longer have the capacity to change,” says study lead Dr. Ben Thompson. “We demonstrate here that adults do have the capacity, especially when it comes to vision.”

“Our ultimate goal is to develop an evidence based treatment that patients can receive right in their eye doctor’s office,” says Thompson. “We expect there are other primary visual cortex problems that we may be able to address with this method.”

Full article: http://www.nature.com/articles/srep19280