Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Case Reports
. 2017 Sep;29(9):1700-1705.
doi: 10.1589/jpts.29.1700. Epub 2017 Sep 15.

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) combined with blindsight rehabilitation for the treatment of homonymous hemianopia: a report of two-cases

Barbara Maria Matteo  1 , Barbara Viganò  2 , Cesare Giuseppe Cerri  1 , Roberto Meroni  1 , Cesare Maria Cornaggia  1 , Cecilia Perin  1
Affiliations
Case Reports

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) combined with blindsight rehabilitation for the treatment of homonymous hemianopia: a report of two-cases

Barbara Maria Matteo et al. J Phys Ther Sci. 2017 Sep.

Abstract

[Purpose] Homonymous hemianopia is one of the most common symptoms following neurologic damage leading to impairments of functional abilities and activities of daily living. There are two main types of restorative rehabilitation in hemianopia: "border training" which involves exercising vision at the edge of the damaged visual field, and "blindsight training," which is based on exercising the unconscious perceptual functions deep inside the blind hemifield. Only border effects have been shown to be facilitated by transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). This pilot study represents the first attempt to associate the modulatory effects of tDCS over the parieto-occipital cortex to blindsight treatment in the rehabilitation of the homonymous hemianopia. [Subjects and Methods] Patients TA and MR both had chronic hemianopia. TA underwent blindsight treatment which was combined with tDCS followed by blindsight training alone. MR underwent the two training rounds in reverse order. [Results] The patients showed better scores in clinical-instrumental, functional, and ecological assessments after tDCS combined with blindsight rehabilitation rather than rehabilitation alone. [Conclusion] In this two-case report parietal-occipital tDCS modulate the effects induced by blindsight treatment on hemianopia.

Keywords: Hemianopsia; Stroke; Visual field.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Study design
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Rowe F, Brand D, Jackson CA, et al. : Visual impairment following stroke: do stroke patients require vision assessment? Age Ageing, 2009, 38: 188–193. - PubMed
    1. Pambakian A, Currie J, Kennard C: Rehabilitation strategies for patients with homonymous visual field defects. J Neuroophthalmol, 2005, 25: 136–142. - PubMed
    1. Han L, Law-Gibson D, Reding M: Key neurological impairments influence function-related group outcomes after stroke. Stroke, 2002, 33: 1920–1924. - PubMed
    1. Jongbloed L: Prediction of function after stroke: a critical review. Stroke, 1986, 17: 765–776. - PubMed
    1. Gall C, Lucklum J, Sabel BA, et al. : Vision- and health-related quality of life in patients with visual field loss after postchiasmatic lesions. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci, 2009, 50: 2765–2776. - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources