Brain gray matter alterations in individuals with convergence insufficiency

Motivation: Whether abnormal visual experiences in individuals with convergence insufficiency (CI) would be associated with brain structural alterations. Goal(s): To explore altered cortical structural characteristics in individuals with CI and its relationship with visual measures and clinical symptoms. Approach: All participants underwent high-resolution T1-weighted brain magnetic resonance imaging scanning and cortical thickness, surface area, and volume were calculated and compared between two groups. Results: There are altered cortical gray matter volume and surface area in the brain regions related to the function of eye movement in CI than healthy controls, one of which was correlated with near point of convergence. Impact: Our results shed light on the impact of binocular vision dysfunctions on human brain structure, explicate the neural mechanism of CI, and reveal the potential utility of brain MRI in assessing the neural mechanism of ocular diseases.