A pilot investigation of audiovisual processing and multisensory integration in patients with inherited retinal dystrophies.
Abstract
In this study, we examined audiovisual (AV) processing in normal and visually impaired
individuals who exhibit partial loss of vision due to inherited retinal dystrophies
(IRDs).Two groups were analyzed for this pilot study: Group 1 was composed of IRD
participants: two with autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa (RP), two with autosomal
recessive cone-rod dystrophy (CORD), and two with the related complex disorder, Bardet-Biedl
syndrome (BBS); Group 2 was composed of 15 non-IRD participants (controls). Audiovisual
looming and receding stimuli (conveying perceptual motion) were used to assess the
cortical processing and integration of unimodal (A or V) and multimodal (AV) sensory
cues. Electroencephalography (EEG) was used to simultaneously resolve the temporal
and spatial characteristics of AV processing and assess differences in neural responses
between groups. Measurement of AV integration was accomplished via quantification
of the EEG's spectral power and event-related brain potentials (ERPs).Results show
that IRD individuals exhibit reduced AV integration for concurrent audio and visual
(AV) stimuli but increased brain activity during the unimodal A (but not V) presentation.
This was corroborated in behavioral responses, where IRD patients showed slower and
less accurate judgments of AV and V stimuli but more accurate responses in the A-alone
condition.Collectively, our findings imply a neural compensation from auditory sensory
brain areas due to visual deprivation.
Type
Journal articleSubject
HumansElectroencephalography
Acoustic Stimulation
Regression Analysis
Pilot Projects
Photic Stimulation
Auditory Perception
Visual Perception
Adult
Female
Male
Young Adult
Retinal Dystrophies
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https://hdl.handle.net/10161/18119Published Version (Please cite this version)
10.1186/s12886-017-0640-yPublication Info
Myers, Mark H; Iannaccone, Alessandro; & Bidelman, Gavin M (2017). A pilot investigation of audiovisual processing and multisensory integration in patients
with inherited retinal dystrophies. BMC ophthalmology, 17(1). pp. 240. 10.1186/s12886-017-0640-y. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/18119.This is constructed from limited available data and may be imprecise. To cite this
article, please review & use the official citation provided by the journal.
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Show full item recordScholars@Duke
Alessandro Iannaccone
Professor of Ophthalmology
Alessandro Iannaccone, MD, MS, FARVO is Professor of Ophthalmology and Director of
the Center for Retinal Degenerations and Ophthalmic Genetic Diseases, which was established
in 2016. Prior to joining Duke University, Dr. Iannaccone was an Associate Professor
of Ophthalmology at the Hamilton Eye Institute in Memphis, TN, where he served as
the founding Director of the Retinal Degenerations & Ophthalmic Genetics Service and
the Lions’ Visual Function Diagnostic Lab since 1997.
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