Towards the right way of seeing what is left in Homonymous Hemianopia

Homonymous Hemianopia (HH) refers to one-sided blindness due to unilateral visual pathway damage. To determine the potential of individuals with HH to recover, it is important to consider the functional and structural integrity of their entire visual brain. In her thesis "Towards the right way of seeing what is left in Homonymous Hemianopia'', Hinke describes four exploratory neuroimaging studies and with that showed how the functional and structural integrity of the visual system changes in individuals with HH and how brain activity can inform us about the residual visual functioning of individuals with HH. In particular, she has shown that 1) the extent of collateral damage, i.e. damage in addition to the initial damage, is more widespread than previously reported and even affects the contralateral "healthy" hemisphere; 2) the visual system can functionally reorganize in response to surgical removal of one of the hemispheres (i.e. a hemispherectomy); 3) the functional connectivity strength between the precuneus and the occipital pole can predict training-induced visual recovery; and 4) visual field reconstructions based on brain activity can reveal parts of the "blind" visual field with preserved visual processing. With these findings, she has shed light on aspects that may be critical when determining the recovery potential of individuals with HH.