Objective
Strabismus is a common childhood disease, characterized by a failure to align the eyes. Interestingly, few strabismic children complain of double vision. Many may simply be too young to articulate their perceptions, but another critical factor is that children rapidly suppress vision in the deviated eye.
This suppression prevents eye alignment by eliminating the error signal that would normally induce adjustment of muscle tone to bring their eyes back together. In addition, suppression generates amblyopia, a cause of permanent visual loss. The principal focus of this research proposal will be to discover how and where in the brain, strabismic suppression occurs. This objective will be achieved with a combination of complementary techniques. Strabismic humans will partake in psychophysical experiments, designed to map regional suppression.
They will then participate in a brain imaging (fMRI) experiment, to reveal how suppression affects neuronal activity in the visual system. This experiment will uncover both the neural signature of strabismic suppression, and where in the brain it is generated. fMRI is an excellent technique to gauge the strength and location of brain activation.
However, it sheds less light on the temporal characteristics or the nature of the observed activity. For this reason, an electrophysiological experiment in awake monkeys with experimental strabismus will be done in tandem. The precise temporal and spatial resolution afforded by single unit recording will enable us to monitor how the responses of single visually driven cells change, as they either signal perception or are suppressed.
This multidisciplinary approach will be necessary to produce a complete description of the problem of suppression in strabismus. It is our conviction that a better understanding of the neural mechanism of strabismic suppression will permit the development of improved strategies for the effective treatment, or even prevention of strabismus in children.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
FP6-2004-MOBILITY-12
See other projects for this call
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
IRG - Marie Curie actions-International re-integration grants
Coordinator
TRENTO
Italy
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.