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Rehabilitation For Acquired Visual Field Defects: Development Of A Bottom-Up Approach

Not Applicable
Completed
Conditions
Acquired Visual Field Defects
Interventions
Other: Treatment A
Other: Treatment B
Registration Number
NCT01730560
Lead Sponsor
Hospices Civils de Lyon
Brief Summary

Cortical Visual Field Defects (CFVD) are common after acquired brain injury. They often cause problems with reading and visual exploration which impact on patients' quality of life. Apart from the substitutive method that uses prisms directly placed on glasses, two main rehabilitative methods have been explored previously: one restorative and one compensatory. The most effective methods seem to be based on compensatory training paradigms that target eye movements. They rely on voluntary mass-practice that induces changes in exploratory saccadic behaviour, particularly into the blind hemifield. Previous studies using this method have shown changes in visual scanning patterns but with only a marginal profit in terms of functional benefit.

In the present study, the investigators developed a new approach to the compensatory visual field training based solely on a bottom-up mechanism. It does not require the patients' ability to voluntarily maintain attention oriented to the affected field, which may be difficult for brain-damaged patients. As previously reported in other pathological contexts (e.g. use of prism adaptation or sensory stimulation in neglect patients), bypassing voluntary and conscious implication of the patient can produce improvements by a more automatic process.

The investigators hypotheses are: 1) that a novel ramp-step search paradigm can be used by hemianopic patients to automatically improve targeted eye movements into their blind visual field; and 2) that this will lead to behavioural improvements on ecologically valid tests of visual search.

Detailed Description

Not available

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
COMPLETED
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
22
Inclusion Criteria
  • Male/Female
  • Stroke (ischemia or hemorrhage) documented by CTscan or MRI
  • Traumatic brain injury (TBI) documented by CTscan or MRI
  • Right or Left hemianopia defined by perimetry
  • All subjects must be between the ages of 18-80
  • Aetiology of visual field defect : Stroke (ischemia or hemorrhage)
  • Delay post-stroke : at least 6 months
  • Only one lesion on CTscan or MRI (performed in a maximal delay of 6 months)
  • Corrected monocular visual acuity > 5/10
  • Possible understanding of experimental conditions
  • Patient being able to be quiet and sit during at least 2 hours
  • Having given written informed consent prior to any procedure related to the study
  • Availability for the period of the study
  • Covered by a Health System where applicable, and/or in compliance with the recommendations of the national laws in force relating to biomedical research
Exclusion Criteria
  • Ophthalmologic criteria : monocular visual acuity < 4/10, strabismus , diplopia , ocular instability , nystagmus, maculopathy , glaucoma , retinopathy , orthoptic rehabilitation
  • Neurologic criteria : sever phasic disturbances , neurologic degenerative affection , non controlled seizure , severe handicap non compatible with prolonged sit position or concentration during 30 consecutive minutes
  • No command of french language
  • Non stabilized medical situation
  • Females who are pregnant, nursing, or planning a pregnancy during the study period, or females of childbearing potential, not using a reliable means of contraception.
  • Not under any administrative or legal supervision

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
CROSSOVER
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
Arm 1:Treatment ATreatment ATreatment A (active) followed by treatment B (neutral)
Arm 2: Treatment BTreatment BTreatment B (neutral) followed by treatment A (active)
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Difference in performance (mean reaction time - RT) of an ecological visual search task between pre-tests and immediate post-test for each patient according to treatment (A or B).1 week
Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Errors and omissions at each evaluation session for the visual search task1, 2 and 5 weeks

Mean RT difference, errors and omissions at several visual tasks (rapid scanning task, exploratory visual tasks, reading task) at each evaluation session Parameters of visual field perimetry before and after treatment Oculo-motor parameters during the different tasks (i.e. amplitude and latencies for saccades and fixations)

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Service de Médecine Physique et de Réadaptation,Hôpital Henry Gabrielle

🇫🇷

Saint Genis Laval, France

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