Development and maturation of the visual cortex

人类大脑的大部分用于视觉，这需要大脑皮层许多相互关联的区域的综合活动。这些区域的损伤是早产和/或围产期疾病(包括创伤和感染)的相对常见的并发症。这些损伤的短期和长期影响的严重程度似乎与损伤的时间有关。这个项目的目的是研究大脑的多个视觉区域是如何在出生后的一段时间内发育并连接在一起的。我们还将确定是否有机制允许在大脑仍在其多个区域之间建立连接的同时找到处理视觉信息的替代路径。这将使我们能够了解大脑视觉区域早期损伤所造成的缺陷的解剖学和生理学基础，并可能指出有助于改善视觉功能恢复的策略。

Much of the human brain is devoted to vision, which requires the integrated activity of many interconnected areas of the cerebral cortex. Damage to these areas is a relatively common complication of preterm delivery and- or perinatal conditions including trauma and infection. The severity of both the short- and long-term effects of these lesions appears to be related to the time of the damage. The aim of this project is to investigate the way in which the multiple visual areas of the brain develop and become 'wired' together in the period following birth. We will also determine if there are mechanisms which allow alternate routes to be found for processing visual information while the brain is still establishing connections between its multiple areas. This will allow us to understand the anatomical and physiological bases of the deficits caused by early damage to the visual areas of the brain, and perhaps point to strategies that will lead to improved recovery of visual function.