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Age-related macular degeneration changes the processing of visual scenes in the brain

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 March 2018

STEPHEN RAMANOËL ,
SYLVIE CHOKRON ,
RUXANDRA HERA ,
LOUISE KAUFFMANN ,
CHRISTOPHE CHIQUET ,
ALEXANDRE KRAINIK  and
CAROLE PEYRIN
STEPHEN RAMANOËL
Affiliation:
Univ. Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, LPNC, 38000 Grenoble, France Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Inserm, CHU Grenoble, GIN, 38000 Grenoble, France
SYLVIE CHOKRON
Affiliation:
UMR 8242, Laboratoire de Psychologie de la Perception, Université Paris-Descartes & CNRS, Paris, France Unité Vision & Cognition, Fondation Ophtalmologique Rothschild, Paris, France
RUXANDRA HERA
Affiliation:
Alpes Retine, Montbonnot Saint Martin, France
LOUISE KAUFFMANN
Affiliation:
Univ. Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, LPNC, 38000 Grenoble, France
CHRISTOPHE CHIQUET
Affiliation:
Department of Ophthalmology, University Hospital, Grenoble, France
ALEXANDRE KRAINIK
Affiliation:
Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Inserm, CHU Grenoble, GIN, 38000 Grenoble, France Department of Neuroradiology and MRI, CHU Grenoble Alpes, Grenoble, France CHU Grenoble Alpes, University Grenoble Alpes, CNRS UMS 3552, Inserm US17, IRMaGe, Grenoble, France
CAROLE PEYRIN*
Affiliation:
Univ. Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, LPNC, 38000 Grenoble, France
*
*Address correspondence to: Carole Peyrin, Laboratoire de Psychologie et NeuroCognition (LPNC), Université Grenoble Alpes, BSHM - 1251 Av Centrale CS40700, 38058 Grenoble Cedex 9, France. E-mail: carole.peyrin@univ-grenoble-alpes.fr
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Abstract

In age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the processing of fine details in a visual scene, based on a high spatial frequency processing, is impaired, while the processing of global shapes, based on a low spatial frequency processing, is relatively well preserved. The present fMRI study aimed to investigate the residual abilities and functional brain changes of spatial frequency processing in visual scenes in AMD patients. AMD patients and normally sighted elderly participants performed a categorization task using large black and white photographs of scenes (indoors vs. outdoors) filtered in low and high spatial frequencies, and nonfiltered. The study also explored the effect of luminance contrast on the processing of high spatial frequencies. The contrast across scenes was either unmodified or equalized using a root-mean-square contrast normalization in order to increase contrast in high-pass filtered scenes. Performance was lower for high-pass filtered scenes than for low-pass and nonfiltered scenes, for both AMD patients and controls. The deficit for processing high spatial frequencies was more pronounced in AMD patients than in controls and was associated with lower activity for patients than controls not only in the occipital areas dedicated to central and peripheral visual fields but also in a distant cerebral region specialized for scene perception, the parahippocampal place area. Increasing the contrast improved the processing of high spatial frequency content and spurred activation of the occipital cortex for AMD patients. These findings may lead to new perspectives for rehabilitation procedures for AMD patients.

Keywords

RetinaOccipital cortexParahippocampal place areaSpatial frequencyContrast

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Type
Research Article
Information
Visual Neuroscience , Volume 35 , 2018 , E006
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2018 

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