Scientists found a way to "reboot" the eye and restore impaired vision

Illustration created with artificial intelligence. Source: Vecteezy

Amblyopia, or "lazy eye," is a condition in which vision in one or both eyes does not develop properly because the brain, for some reason, learns to ignore signals from the weaker eye. Traditional treatments (for example, wearing a patch over the healthy eye) are usually effective only at an early age, while neural connections are actively forming. It is much more difficult to help adults, as their visual system is considered to be already formed and to have lost its plasticity.

However, a new discovery could change everything. The Independent reports on the innovative technology, citing research by scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The team of scientists discovered that temporary anesthesia of the "lazy eye" retina is capable of restoring the brain's visual response to that eye even in adulthood. Experiments were conducted on mice: an anesthetic was injected into their amblyopic eye, effectively disabling the retina for two days.

As the authors of the study described in their article published in the scientific journal Cell Reports, they focused on the work of the lateral geniculate nucleus — a network of nerves that transmits information from the eyes to the visual cortex of the brain.

As early as 2008, it was noted that blocking signals from the eye's retina to the nerves in this network caused neurons to send synchronous "bursts" of electrical signals to the nerves in the visual cortex. The new study was to test whether these bursts could indeed play a role in treatment.

To find out, scientists administered anesthesia to the eyes of mice with amblyopia and compared them with a control group. They found that the injection effectively disabled the retina for two days.

The researchers then measured the activity of neurons in the visual cortex to determine the ratio of signals from each eye. It turned out that in mice that received the treatment, this indicator was significantly higher compared to those left without therapy. This suggests that after the retina's function was restored, the contribution of the "lazy eye" increased to parity with the healthy one — a successful "reboot" effectively occurred.

Scientists express cautious optimism and hope in future studies to confirm the effectiveness of the method in other animal species, and ultimately — to implement it for human treatment.

According to the authors, if the therapy proves effective in humans, it will be a significant breakthrough. Patients will no longer have to endure inconveniences and cover the healthy eye, as current methods require. Instead, it is proposed to temporarily inactivate the "lazy eye" itself. After such a pause, it will be able to "reboot" and return to full functioning.

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