[CTN] CTN seminar: Dr. Ben Thompson, 2:00 TUESDAY, PAS 2464

[Bryan Tripp]

Hi everyone,

Dr. Ben Thompson will give the next seminar this Tuesday, November 25.
The title and abstract follow below. Dr. Thompson was previously a
professor at the University of Auckland, and recently moved to the
University of Waterloo in the School of Optometry and Vision Science.

Please note that the time is 2:00 in PAS 2464 rather than 3:30 as usual.

Bryan



Dr. Ben Thompson
Associate Professor
School of Optometry and Vision Science
University of Waterloo

Title: Learning to see with a “lazy eye”; harnessing visual cortex
plasticity to treat amblyopia

Amblyopia is a neurodevelopmental disorder of the visual cortex that
is often considered to be untreatable in adulthood due to insufficient
neural plasticity. I will present a series of studies which indicate
that both binocular perceptual learning and non-invasive brain
stimulation techniques can improve visual function in adult patients
with amblyopia, possibly by reducing inhibitory interactions within
the visual cortex. I will also present new data from a recent study on
the use of the anti-depressant drug citalopram to promote visual
cortex plasticity in adults with amblyopia.