Amblyopia and suppression in the economy of the visual system

Introduction:Congenital esotropia provides a model to study how amblyopia and suppression act as neuroadaptive strategies.Cortical coherence analysis allows the identification of functional reorganization patterns underlying these responses within the economy of the visual system.Objective: To analyze intraand interhemispheric coherences to identify neurofunctional changes consistent with amblyopia, suppression, and visual perception in congenital esotropia.Method: Intraand interhemispheric coherences were analyzed by neurometric analysis in children with congenital strabismus and compared with the asymptomatic population.Results: 16,128 coherence values of 38 boys and 25 girls aged 4 to 14 years were analyzed.The most significant intrahemispheric hypocoherence occurred for theta and delta in both parieto-temporal pathways P3-T5 and P4-T6.A hypofunctional cortical relationship towards the temporal lobes was evidenced.The left and right long ventral pathways O1-T3 and O2-T4 showed hyperfunction of +5.76 for theta in 23%.Poor intertemporal and interfrontal connectivity was observed, while the occipito-occipital relationship was normal.Conclusions: In congenital esotropia there are intraand interhemispheric cortical neurofunctional alterations that can be systematized.A normal occipito-occipital O1-O2 interhemispheric coherence and a temporo-temporal hypofunction T3-T4 and T5-T6 would be related to amblyopia.Hyperfunction in the long occipito-temporal pathways O2-T4 and O1-T3, and poor interhemispheric connectivity FP1-FP2, would be related to suppression.The hypofunction of the posterior short temporal intrahemispheric pathways P3-T5 and P4-T6, and interhemispheric pathways FP1-FP2, would hinder visual perception.These neuroadaptive changes suggest that amblyopia and suppression are different strategies in the economy of the visual system to decrease oscillation and visual noise, while perceptual alterations could be related to hypofunction of the temporal lobes.