Part One of aThree-part Article On Vision & Rehab After Brain Injury

Vision and Rehabilitation After Brain Trauma: Part 1 03/08/2010.  Visual problems following brain trauma are frequent and often complex. It is probably easiest to define the problems based upon how they affect incoming visual information (i.e., the afferent visual pathways) or the outflow of information to the visual organs (i.e., efferent visual pathways). Afferent defects include reduction in visual acuity, visual field, color vision, contrast sensitivity, comfort (usually as it relates to glare), and higher level visual processing, including recording of visual memory and comprehension of visual stimuli. Efferent defects include reduction of the ability to visually pursue a target, focus the lens inside the eye, train the two eyes onto a single target, maintain gaze once a visual target is obtained, and open and close the eyelids. In this three part series, we will describe 1) damage to the afferent visual pathways, 2) damage to the efferent visual pathways, and 3) the role of the neuro-ophthalmologist in visual restoration and rehabilitation. Health.mil