Biology subjects

Hoffmann, M. B.

Publications and source records attributed to Hoffmann, M. B..

7 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2020

Functional dynamics of de-afferented early visual cortex in glaucoma

fMRI studies in macular degeneration (MD) and retinitis pigmentosa (RP) demonstrated that responses in the lesion projection zones (LPZ) of V1 are task related, indicating significant limits of bottom-up visual system plasticity in MD and RP. In advanced glaucoma (GL), a prevalent eye disease and leading cause of blindness, the scope of visual system plasticity is currently unknown. We performed 3T fMRI in patients with extensive visual field defects due to GL (n=5), RP (n=2) and healthy controls (n=7; with simulated defects). Participants viewed contrast patterns drifting in 8 directions alternating with uniform gray and performed 3 tasks: (1) passive viewing (PV), (2) one-back task (OBT) and (3) fixation-dot task (FDT). During PV, they passively viewed the stimulus with central fixation, during OBT they reported the succession of the same two motion directions, and during FDT a change in the fixation color. In GL, LPZ responses of the early visual cortex (V1, V2 and V3) shifted from negative during PV to positive for OBT [p (corrected): V1(0.006); V2(0.04); V3(0.008)], while they were negative in the controls simulated LPZ for all stimulation conditions. For RP a similar pattern as for GL was observed. Consequently, activity in the de-afferented visual cortex in glaucoma is, similar to MD and RP, task-related. In conclusion, the lack of bottom-up plasticity appears to be a general feature of the human visual system. These insights are of importance for the development of treatment and rehabilitation schemes in glaucoma. HighlightsO_LIFunctional dynamics of early visual cortex LPZ depend on task demands in glaucoma C_LIO_LIBrain activity in deprived visual cortex suggests absence of large-scale remapping C_LIO_LILimited scope of bottom-up plasticity is a general feature of human visual system C_LIO_LIVisual system stability and plasticity is of relevance for therapeutic advances C_LI

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2020

Interaction of intraocular pressure and ganglion cell function in open angle glaucoma

PurposeTo test the feasibility of simultaneous steady-state pattern electroretinogram (PERG) and intraocular pressure (IOP) measurements with an IOP sensor and to test a model for IOP manipulation during lateral decubitus positioning (LDP) and its impact on the PERG. DesignA prospective, observational study. Methods15 healthy controls and 15 treated glaucoma patients participated in the study. 8 patients had an intraocular IOP sensor (eyemate-IO(R), Implandata Ophthalmic Products GmbH) in the right eye (GLAIMP) and 7 had no sensor and with glaucoma in the left eye. (1) We tested the feasibility of simultaneous IOP and PERG recordings by comparing PERGs with and without simultaneous IOP-read out in GLAIMP. (2) All participants were positioned in the following order: sitting1 (S1), right LDP (LDR), sitting2 (S2), left LDP (LDL) and sitting3 (S3). For each position, PERG amplitudes and IOP were determined with rebound tonometry (Icare(R) TA01i) in all participants without the IOP sensor. ResultsElectromagnetic intrusions of IOP sensor readout onto steady-state PERG-recordings had, due to different frequency ranges, no relevant effect on PERG amplitudes. IOP and PERG measures were affected by LDP, e.g., IOP was increased during LDR vs S1 in the lower eyes of GLAIMP and controls (P < 0.001 and P < 0.05, respectively) and PERG amplitude was decreased (P < 0.05 and P < 0.01, respectively). ConclusionsDuring LDP, IOP and PERG measurements changed more in the lower eye. IOP changes induced by LDP may be a model for studying the interaction of IOP and ganglion cell function.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2020

Foveal pRF properties in the visual cortex depend on the extent of stimulated visual field

Previous studies demonstrated that alterations in functional MRI derived receptive field (pRF) properties in cortical projection zones of retinal lesions can erroneously be mistaken for cortical large-scale reorganization in response to visual system pathologies. We tested, whether such confounds are also evident in the normal cortical projection zone of the fovea for simulated peripheral visual field defects. We applied fMRI-based visual field mapping of the central visual field at 3 Tesla in eight controls to compare the pRF properties of the central visual field of a reference condition (stimulus radius: 14{degrees}) and two conditions with simulated peripheral visual field defect, i.e., with a peripheral gray mask, stimulating only the central 7{degrees} or 4{degrees} radius. We quantified, for the cortical representation of the actually stimulated visual field, the changes in the position and size of the pRFs associated with reduced peripheral stimulation using conventional and advanced pRF modeling. We found foveal pRF-positions ([≤]3{degrees}) to be significantly shifted towards the periphery (p<0.05, corrected). These pRF-shifts were largest for the 4{degrees} condition [visual area (mean eccentricity shift): V1 (0.9{degrees}), V2 (0.9{degrees}), V3 (1.0{degrees})], but also evident for the 7{degrees} condition [V1 (0.5{degrees}), V2 (0.5{degrees}), V3 (0.9{degrees})]. Further, an overall enlargement of pRF-sizes was observed. These findings indicate the dependence of foveal pRF parameters on the spatial extent of the stimulated visual field. Consequently, our results imply that, previously reported similar findings in patients with actual peripheral scotomas need to be interpreted with caution and indicate the need for adequate control conditions in investigations of visual cortex reorganization. HighlightsO_LIFoveal pRF properties change in controls with restricted peripheral stimulation C_LIO_LIpRFs shift in position and enlarge in size for reduced stimulation extent C_LIO_LIAlterations in pRF characteristics in patients should be interpreted with caution C_LIO_LIAdequate control conditions needed in investigations of visual cortex plasticity C_LI

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2019

Micro-probing enables high-resolution mapping of neuronal subpopulations using fMRI

The characterization of receptive field (RF) properties is fundamental to understanding the neural basis of sensory and cognitive behaviour. The combination of non-invasive imaging, such as fMRI, with biologically inspired neural modeling has enabled the estimation of population RFs directly in humans. However, current approaches require making numerous a priori assumptions, so these cannot reveal unpredicted properties, such as fragmented RFs or subpopulations. This is a critical limitation in studies on adaptation, pathology or reorganization. Here, we introduce micro-probing (MP), a technique for fine-grained and assumption free characterisation of subpopulation RFs. Without specific stimuli or adapted models, MP mapped the bilateral RFs characteristic of observers with a congenital pathway disorder. Moreover, in healthy observers, MP revealed voxels that capture the activity of multiple neuronal subpopulations. Thus, MP provides a versatile framework to visualize, analyze and model, without restrictions, the diverse RFs of cortical subpopulations in health and disease.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2019

Triple visual hemifield maps in optic chiasm hypoplasia

In humans, each hemisphere comprises an overlay of two visuotopic maps of the contralateral visual field, one from each eye. Is the capacity of the visual cortex limited to these two maps or are plastic mechanisms available to host more maps? Using an integrative approach of submillimeter fMRI, diffusion-weighted imaging and population receptive field mapping, we found three hemiretinal inputs to converge onto the left hemisphere in a rare individual with chiasma hypoplasia. This generates extremely atypical responses in striate and extrastriate cortices, specifically an overlay of three hemifield representations. Unexpectedly, the effects of this large abnormality on visual function in daily life are not easily detected. We conclude that developmental plasticity including the re-wiring of local intra- and cortico-cortical connections is pivotal to support the coexistence and functioning of three hemifield maps within one hemisphere.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2019

Quantifying nerve decussation abnormalities in the optic chiasm

ObjectiveThe human optic chiasm comprises partially crossing optic nerve fibres. Here we used diffusion MRI (dMRI) for the in-vivo identification of the abnormally high proportion of crossing fibres found in the optic chiasm of people with albinism.\n\nMethodsIn 9 individuals with albinism and 8 controls high-resolution 3T dMRI data was acquired and analyzed with a set of methods for signal modeling [Diffusion Tensor (DT) and Constrained Spherical Deconvolution (CSD)], tractography, and streamline filtering (LiFE, COMMIT, and SIFT2). The number of crossing and non-crossing streamlines and their weights after filtering entered ROC-analyses to compare the discriminative power of the methods based on the area under the curve (AUC). The dMRI results were cross-validated with fMRI estimates of misrouting in a subset of 6 albinotic individuals.\n\nResultsWe detected significant group differences in chiasmal crossing for both unfiltered DT (p=0.014) and CSD tractograms (p=0.0009) also reflected by AUC measures (for DT and CSD: 0.61 and 0.75, respectively), underlining the discriminative power of the approach. Estimates of crossing strengths obtained with dMRI and fMRI were significantly correlated for CSD (R2=0.83, p=0.012). The results show that streamline filtering methods in combination with probabilistic tracking, both optimized for the data at hand, can improve the detection of crossing in the human optic chiasm.\n\nConclusionsEspecially CSD-based tractography provides an efficient approach to detect structural abnormalities in the optic chiasm. The most realistic results were obtained with filtering methods with parameters optimized for the data at hand.\n\nSignificanceOur findings demonstrate a novel anatomy-driven approach for the individualized diagnostics of optic chiasm abnormalities.\n\nHighlightsO_LIDiffusion MRI is capable of detecting structural abnormalities of the optic chiasm.\nC_LIO_LIQuantification of crossing strength in optic chiasm is of promise for albinism diagnostics.\nC_LIO_LIOptic chiasm is a powerful test model for neuroimaging methods resolving crossing fibers.\nC_LI

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2019

Population receptive field and connectivity properties of the early visual cortex in human albinism

In albinism, the pathological decussation of the temporal retinal afferents at the optic chiasm leads to superimposed representations of opposing hemifields in the visual cortex. Here, we assessed the equivalence of the two representations and the cortico-cortical connectivity of the early visual areas. Applying fMRI-based population receptive field (pRF)-mapping (both hemifield and bilateral mapping) and connective field (CF)-modeling, we investigated the early visual cortex in 6 albinotic participants and 4 controls. In albinism, superimposed retinotopic representations of the contra- and ipsilateral visual hemifield were observed on the hemisphere contralateral to the stimulated eye. This was confirmed by the observation of bilateral pRFs during bilateral mapping. Hemifield mapping revealed similar pRF-sizes for both hemifield representations throughout V1 to V3. The typical increase of V1-sampling extent for V3 compared to V2 was not found for the albinotic participants. The similarity of the pRF-sizes for opposing visual hemifield representations highlights the equivalence of the two maps in the early visual cortex. The altered V1-sampling extent in V3 indicates the adaptation of cortico-cortical connections to the abnormal input of the visual cortex. These findings thus suggest that conservative developmental mechanisms are complemented by alterations of the extrastriate cortico-cortical connectivity.\n\nHighlightsO_LIpRF mapping confirms cortical overlay of opposing visual hemifields in albinism.\nC_LIO_LIEquivalent information processing of both hemifields is indicated by similar pRF sizes.\nC_LIO_LICF modeling indicates changes to the cortico-cortical connections at the level of V3.\nC_LI

neuroscience↗