@misc{Kozak_Anna_Katarzyna_Implikacje_2024,
 author={Kozak, Anna Katarzyna},
 editor={Burnat, Kalina (1971- ) : Supervisor},
 copyright={Rights Reserved - Free Access},
 address={Warszawa},
 howpublished={online},
 year={2024},
 school={Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology PAS},
 school={degree obtained: 10.10.2025},
 publisher={Instytut Biologii Doświadczalnej im. Marcelego Nenckiego PAN},
 language={pol},
 abstract={Macular degeneration is the leading cause of vision loss in adults. In this condition, the photoreceptor cells within the central retina, undergo progressive degeneration, leading to a gradual loss of high-acuity vision. During the doctoral research, two series of studies were conducted in order to investigate the impact of visual training on changes occurring after retinal damage: one involving human and the other one using an animal model of central retinal damage. At first, a visual test was designed to measure visual acuity based on motion perception. The motion-acuity test involved distinguishing a circle from an ellipse made up of moving dots. The level of visual acuity was verified in a group of healthy individuals and preliminarily tested in patients suffering from retinitis pigmentosa (RP) and Stargardt disease (STGD). Both patient groups suffer from progressive degeneration of photoreceptors: RP patients in the peripheral retina and STGD patients in the central retina. To assess the feasibility of modeling peripheral retinal damage we restricted the peripheral visual field in healthy controls using welding goggles. Obtained results showed that fast motion of dots in negative contrast is the most difficult for healthy individuals (Kozak et al., 2021). In the second study, an animal model of macular degeneration was used in adult cats, which underwent bilateral photocoagulation of the central retina. Control animals and two groups of cats with retinal damage, naive and trained, were tested. 7 T-MRI scanning was performed before and after lesioning at 5 different timepoints. Cats with retinal lesions performed motion- based visual tasks with higher level of correct responses than control animals. Next, a fixel- based analysis (FBA) of diffusion data was conducted. In naive, untrained cats (RLN), the reduction in FBA metrics was 40-15% compared to the control group. Changes in the metrics affected fibers in the motion-sensitive visual area V5, the superior colliculi, hippocampus, caudate nucleus, and the optic tract. In contrast, trained cats with retinal lesions showed more spatially limited changes, and the reduction in FBA metrics was smaller compared to the RLN group. To track the temporal dynamics of changes after injury, fractional anisotropy (FA) tensor analysis was performed. FA values in naive, lesioned animals increased rapidly after the lesion, while in trained lesioned animals, the values remained stable. Our results show the stabilizing effect of training, which halts or limits the changes caused by the lesion (Kozak et al., 2024). In conclusion, we suggest that visual training focused on motion-related visual functions, specific to visual areas receiving input from the active peripheral part of the retina, may lead to a partial takeover of functions typically dependent on central vision.},
 title={Implikacje behawioralne i analiza zmian zachodzących w istocie białej pod wpływem lezji siatkówkowej oraz treningu wzrokowego, zbudowanego w oparciu o bodziec testowany na pacjentach z uszkodzeniem siatkówki : praca doktorska},
 type={Text},
 URL={http://rcin.org.pl/Content/246135/WA488_282876_20804_Kozak-Anna-Katarzyna-2025.pdf},
 keywords={Fixel based analysis, Hippocampus (HPC), Retinal lesion, V5/PMLS, Visual training, White matter - structure},
}