It is widely accepted that age-related changes and maturation are processes that occur throughout the entire lifespan, particularly in the visual system. Physiological developments are continuous, and the eye and the brain both undergo structural and functional changes. Healthy aging involves a complex interplay between biology, genetics, psychology, behavior, socioeconomic, and culture. As aging progresses, there is often a substantial decline in the functioning of the visual system, stemming from changes to the eye’s optics, through to alterations in the brain’s perception. These age-related changes in visual processing have been quantified in terms of decreases in visual acuity, contrast sensitivity, processing speed, and perceptual performance. Structurally, these changes may reflect alterations in anatomy, such as sulcal widening, increased ventricle size, loss of grey matter, and synapse decline. However, the occipital cortex and surrounding calcarine sulcus reportedly show little loss of grey matter density as aging progresses. In line with this premise, the results of studies that have measured physical attributes such as grey matter density or blood iron content in blood volume pumped to the brain, are mixed. Some reports show that young people have more grey matter than old in the visual cortex, whilst others show no difference in cortical volume. Theories of age-related changes in visual performance should thus be considered in this context: structurally there may be little difference between young and old age groups in the anatomy of the visual cortex. Accordingly, it is the functional differences between the younger and older visual systems that are the key to understanding the effects of aging effects on visual processing.
The goal of the research topic is to bring together recent advances in the understanding of visual processing in studies that include a variety of measurement strategies but that clarify the differential effects of aging on disparate bits of the visual system. The intention is to show that vision is a seamless process that is sensitive to changes all along its pathway. Healthy aging, as well as retinal diseases such as age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma, and diabetes, may be used to reflect the upsetting of the fine balance that is maintained in seamless visual perception.
With this intent, we propose to divide the issue into two parts: one on healthy aging in the visual system and the other on the commonest eye diseases of aging that impact visual perception. We encourage submissions on the retinal and cortical neurovascular coupling that include functional imaging, electrophysiology, and psychophysics to elucidate visual function and perception.
Part 1
1. The eye and early perceptual processes: maturation, development, and healthy aging
2. Neurovascular coupling in the retina: the balance between the neural processing of images and the vascular input to the retina
3. The neural and vascular pathway from the neural retina to the primary visual cortex
4. Going forward from the primary visual cortex to specialized perceptual processing: a) face processing, b) motion, and 3D processing
Part 2
1. Imbalance in early perceptual processing with long term effects in the aging visual system: refractive error
2. Imbalance in neurovascular coupling in the retina: a) glaucoma b) diabetes c) age-related macular degeneration
It is widely accepted that age-related changes and maturation are processes that occur throughout the entire lifespan, particularly in the visual system. Physiological developments are continuous, and the eye and the brain both undergo structural and functional changes. Healthy aging involves a complex interplay between biology, genetics, psychology, behavior, socioeconomic, and culture. As aging progresses, there is often a substantial decline in the functioning of the visual system, stemming from changes to the eye’s optics, through to alterations in the brain’s perception. These age-related changes in visual processing have been quantified in terms of decreases in visual acuity, contrast sensitivity, processing speed, and perceptual performance. Structurally, these changes may reflect alterations in anatomy, such as sulcal widening, increased ventricle size, loss of grey matter, and synapse decline. However, the occipital cortex and surrounding calcarine sulcus reportedly show little loss of grey matter density as aging progresses. In line with this premise, the results of studies that have measured physical attributes such as grey matter density or blood iron content in blood volume pumped to the brain, are mixed. Some reports show that young people have more grey matter than old in the visual cortex, whilst others show no difference in cortical volume. Theories of age-related changes in visual performance should thus be considered in this context: structurally there may be little difference between young and old age groups in the anatomy of the visual cortex. Accordingly, it is the functional differences between the younger and older visual systems that are the key to understanding the effects of aging effects on visual processing.
The goal of the research topic is to bring together recent advances in the understanding of visual processing in studies that include a variety of measurement strategies but that clarify the differential effects of aging on disparate bits of the visual system. The intention is to show that vision is a seamless process that is sensitive to changes all along its pathway. Healthy aging, as well as retinal diseases such as age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma, and diabetes, may be used to reflect the upsetting of the fine balance that is maintained in seamless visual perception.
With this intent, we propose to divide the issue into two parts: one on healthy aging in the visual system and the other on the commonest eye diseases of aging that impact visual perception. We encourage submissions on the retinal and cortical neurovascular coupling that include functional imaging, electrophysiology, and psychophysics to elucidate visual function and perception.
Part 1
1. The eye and early perceptual processes: maturation, development, and healthy aging
2. Neurovascular coupling in the retina: the balance between the neural processing of images and the vascular input to the retina
3. The neural and vascular pathway from the neural retina to the primary visual cortex
4. Going forward from the primary visual cortex to specialized perceptual processing: a) face processing, b) motion, and 3D processing
Part 2
1. Imbalance in early perceptual processing with long term effects in the aging visual system: refractive error
2. Imbalance in neurovascular coupling in the retina: a) glaucoma b) diabetes c) age-related macular degeneration
