View source for Cortical blindness

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'''Cortical blindness''' is the total or partial loss of [[visual perception|vision]] in a normal-appearing [[human eye|eye]] caused by damage to the [[human brain|brain]]'s [[occipital cortex]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.triadpublishing.com/eyedictionary.shtml |title=Dictionary of Eye Terminology<!-- Bot generated title --> |access-date=2005-10-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170803004751/http://www.triadpublishing.com/eyedictionary.shtml |archive-date=2017-08-03 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Cortical blindness can be acquired or congenital, and may also be transient in certain instances.<ref name=aldrich>{{cite journal |last1=Aldrich |first1=Michael S. |first2=Anthony G. |last2=Alessi |first3=Roy W. |last3=Beck |first4=Sid |last4=Gilman |title=Cortical Blindness: Etiology, Diagnosis, and Prognosis |journal=Annals of Neurology |volume=21 |issue=2 |year=1987 |pages=149–158 |doi=10.1002/ana.410210207 |pmid=3827223 |url=https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/50318/1/410210207_ftp.pdf |hdl=2027.42/50318 |s2cid=26912063 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> Acquired cortical blindness is most often caused by loss of blood flow to the occipital cortex from either unilateral or bilateral [[posterior cerebral artery]] blockage ([[stroke#Ischemic|ischemic stroke]]) and by cardiac surgery.<ref name="aldrich" /> In most cases, the complete loss of vision is not permanent and the patient may recover some of their vision ([[cortical visual impairment]]).<ref name="aldrich" /> Congenital cortical blindness is most often caused by perinatal ischemic stroke, [[encephalitis]], and [[meningitis]].<ref name=hadley>{{cite web |url=http://www.hadley.edu/SeminarDownload/Cortical_Visual%20Impairment_and_Blindness-PPT-Hadley.ppt |title=Archived copy |accessdate=2012-11-05 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121110031938/http://hadley.edu/SeminarDownload/Cortical_Visual%20Impairment_and_Blindness-PPT-Hadley.ppt |archive-date=2012-11-10 }}{{full citation needed|date=July 2015}}</ref>
Rarely, a patient with acquired cortical blindness may have little or no insight that they have lost vision, a phenomenon known as [[Anton–Babinski syndrome]].

Cortical blindness and cortical visual impairment (CVI), which refers to the partial loss of vision caused by cortical damage, are both classified as subsets of neurological visual impairment (NVI). NVI and its three subtypes—cortical blindness, cortical visual impairment, and [[delayed visual maturation]]—must be distinguished from ocular [[visual impairment]] in terms of their different causes and structural foci, the brain and the eye respectively. One diagnostic marker of this distinction is that the pupils of individuals with cortical blindness will respond to light whereas those of individuals with ocular visual impairment will not.{{citation needed|date=July 2015}}

==Symptoms==

The most common symptoms of acquired and transient cortical blindness include:
* A complete loss of visual sensation and of [[visual perception|vision]]<ref name="langley" />
*  Preservation/sparing of the abilities to perceive light and/or moving, but not static objects ([[Riddoch syndrome]])<ref name="aldrich" />
* A lack of visual fixation and tracking<ref name=langley>https://www.prcvi.org/cortical-visual-impairment.aspx{{full citation needed|date=July 2015}}{{Dead link|date=November 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
* Denial of visual loss ([[Anton–Babinski syndrome]])
* Visual hallucinations<ref name="langley"/>
* Macular sparing, in which vision in the fovea is spared from the blindness.<ref name="langley"/>

==Causes==
The most common cause of cortical blindness is ischemia ([[Hypoxia (medical)|oxygen deprivation]]) to the occipital lobes caused by blockage to one or both of the posterior cerebral arteries.<ref name="aldrich" />  However, other conditions have also been known to cause acquired and transient cortical blindness, including:

* Congenital abnormalities of the occipital lobe<ref name="aph" />
* Head trauma to the occipital lobe of the brain<ref name="aph" />
* Bilateral lesions of the primary [[visual cortex]]<ref name="aldrich" />
* Infection<ref name="aph">{{cite web |url=http://www.aph.org/cvi/define.html |title=What is CVI? |accessdate=2012-04-15 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120415080815/http://www.aph.org/cvi/define.html |archive-date=2012-04-15 }}</ref>
* [[Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease]] (CJD), in association with a rapid onset of [[dementia]]
* Rarely, [[dissociative identity disorder]] (DID)<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Waldvogel|first1=B.|last2=Ullrich|first2=A.|last3=Strasburger|first3=H.|date=2007-11-01|title=Blind und sehend in einer Person|journal=Der Nervenarzt|language=de|volume=78|issue=11|pages=1303–1309|doi=10.1007/s00115-007-2309-x|pmid=17611729|s2cid=31801805|issn=1433-0407|url=https://epub.ub.uni-muenchen.de/1996/}}</ref>
* Side effect of some anti-epilepsy drugs ([[Anticonvulsant|AED]]s)
* Hyperammonemia<ref name="medscape">{{EMedicine|article|1174503|Hyperammonemia|followup}}</ref>
* [[Eclampsia]]<ref>{{cite journal |author=Cipolla MJ |title=Cerebrovascular function in pregnancy and eclampsia |journal=Hypertension |volume=50 |issue=1 |pages=14–24 |date=July 2007 |pmid=17548723 |doi=10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.106.079442 |doi-access=free }}</ref> and, rarely, [[pre-eclampsia]]<ref>{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1016/0002-9378(95)91495-1 | last1 = Cunningham | first1 = F. G. | last2 = Fernandez | first2 = C. O. | last3 = Hernandez | first3 = C. | title = Blindness associated with preeclampsia and eclampsia | journal = American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology | volume = 172 | issue = 4 Pt 1 | pages = 1291–1298 | year = 1995 | pmid = 7726272}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1016/S0002-9394(02)01753-1 | last1 = Do | first1 = D. V. | last2 = Rismondo | first2 = V. | last3 = Nguyen | first3 = Q. D. | title = Reversible cortical blindness in preeclampsia | journal = American Journal of Ophthalmology | volume = 134 | issue = 6 | pages = 916–918 | year = 2002 | pmid = 12470768}}</ref>

The most common causes of congenital cortical blindness are:
* Traumatic brain injury (TBI) to the occipital lobe of the brain<ref name="hadley" />
* Congenital abnormalities of the occipital lobe<ref name="aph" />
* Perinatal ischemia<ref name="hadley"/>
* Encephalitis<ref name="hadley" />
* Meningitis<ref name="hadley" />

==Diagnosis==
A patient with cortical blindness has no vision but the response of his/her pupil to light is intact (as the reflex does not involve the cortex). Therefore, one diagnostic test for cortical blindness is to first objectively verify the optic nerves and the non-cortical functions of the eyes are functioning normally. This involves confirming that patient can distinguish light/dark, and that his/her pupils dilate and contract with light exposure. Then, the patient is asked to describe something he/she would be able to recognize with normal vision. For example, the patient would be asked the following:{{citation needed|date=July 2015}}
* "How many fingers am I holding up?"
* "What does that sign (on a custodian's closet, a restroom door, an exit sign) say?"
* "What kind of vending machine (with a vivid picture of a well-known brand name on it) is that?"
Patients with cortical blindness will not be able to identify the item being questioned about at all or will not be able to provide any details other than color or perhaps general shape. This indicates that the lack of vision is neurological rather than ocular. It specifically indicates that the occipital cortex is unable to correctly process and interpret the intact input coming from the retinas.

[[Fundoscopy]] should be normal in cases of cortical blindness.  Cortical blindness can be associated with visual [[hallucinations]], denial of visual loss ([[Anton–Babinski syndrome]]), and the ability to perceive moving but not static objects ([[Riddoch syndrome]]).{{citation needed|date=July 2015}}

==Outcome==
The prognosis of a patient with acquired cortical blindness depends largely on the original cause of the blindness. For instance, patients with bilateral occipital lesions have a much lower chance of recovering vision than patients who suffered a transient ischemic attack or women who experienced complications associated with [[eclampsia]].<ref name="aldrich" /><ref name="hadley" /> In patients with acquired cortical blindness, a permanent complete loss of vision is rare.<ref name="aldrich" /> The development of cortical blindness into the milder [[cortical visual impairment]] is a more likely outcome.<ref name="aldrich" />  Furthermore, some patients regain vision completely, as is the case with transient cortical blindness associated with eclampsia and the side effects of certain anti-epilepsy drugs.

Recent research by Krystel R. Huxlin and others on the relearning of complex visual motion following V1 damage has offered potentially promising treatments for individuals with acquired cortical blindness.<ref name=huxlin>{{Cite journal | pmid = 19339594| pmc = 2825043| year = 2009| last1 = Huxlin| first1 = K. R.| title = Perceptual relearning of complex visual motion after V1 damage in humans| journal = Journal of Neuroscience| volume = 29| issue = 13| pages = 3981–91| last2 = Martin| first2 = T| last3 = Kelly| first3 = K| last4 = Riley| first4 = M| last5 = Friedman| first5 = D. I.| last6 = Burgin| first6 = W. S.| last7 = Hayhoe| first7 = M| doi = 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4882-08.2009}}</ref> These treatments focus on retraining and retuning certain intact pathways of the visual cortex which are more or less preserved in individuals who sustained damage to V1.<ref name="huxlin" /> Huxlin and others found that specific training focused on utilizing the "blind field" of individuals who had sustained V1 damage improved the patients' ability to perceive simple and complex visual motion.<ref name="huxlin" /> This sort of 'relearning' therapy may provide a good workaround for patients with acquired cortical blindness in order to better make sense of the visual environment.

==See also==
* [[Blindsight]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==

===Books===
* Vighetto, A., & Krolak-Salmon, P. (2007). Cortical blindness. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.

===Papers===
* Balliet, R., Blood, K. M., & Bach-y-Rita, P. (1985). Visual field rehabilitation in the cortically blind? : Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry Vol 48(11) Nov 1985, 1113–1124.
* Trevethan, C. T., & Sahraie, A. (2003). Spatial and temporal processing in a subject with cortical blindness following occipital surgery: Neuropsychologia Vol 41(10) 2003, 1296–1306.

== External links ==
{{Medical resources
| DiseasesDB      = 
| ICD10           = {{ICD10|H|47|6|h|46}}
| ICD9            = {{ICD9|377.75}}
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| OMIM            = 
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| eMedicineSubj   = 
| eMedicineTopic  = 
| MeshID          = D019575
| SNOMED CT       = 68574006
| ICD10CM         = {{ICD10CM|H47.61}}
}}
{{CNS diseases of the nervous system|state=collapsed}}

[[Category:Blindness]]
[[Category:Neuro-ophthalmology]]
[[Category:Occipital lobe]]