Time Is Vision: Early Training Enhances Vision Restoration After Occipital Stroke (Video)

Hemianopia is a common sequela of occipital stroke. After a brief period of spontaneous improvement, hemianopic defects are assumed to become stable and permanent. Lengthy, intensive visual training can induce partial recovery in chronic (>6 months)hemianopes, though restored vision is not entirely normal. In contrast, little is known about visual properties early after stroke or whether early training, as in sensorimotor stroke, could induce greater visual recovery. Here, we characterized vision in subacute (<3 months) hemianopic fields, before contrasting the relative efficacy of training in subacute versus chronic post-stroke patients.