Nina L. Reislev1, 2, Maurice Ptito1, 3, Ron Kupers2, Hartwig R. Siebner1, 2, Tim B. Dyrby1
1Danish Research Center for Magnetic Resonance, section 340, Copenhagen University Hospital Hvidovre, Hvidovre, Denmark; 2Department for Neuroscience and Pharmacology , Faculty of Health Sciences, Copenhagen University, Copenhagen, Denmark; 3Universit de Montral, School of Optometry, Montral, Qubec, Canada
This study examines the effect of the functional reorganization in the visually deprived human brain on the underlying white matter microstructure. White matter changes were examined in the inferior longitudinal fasciculus (ILF) that belongs to the ventral visual pathway. Diffusion weighted MRI was acquired in 6 congenitally blind, 6 late blind, and 6 matched sighted controls. Left and right ILF were extracted from deterministic tractography. Diffusion parameters related to microstructural properties were determined. We found that compared to control subjects, congenitally blind and late blind subjects had significantly lower fractional anisotropy of ILF.
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