Cerebral Visual Impairment (CVI): A Model of Developmental Plasticity

The education of individuals with cerebral/cortical visual impairment (CVI) appears to follow a different developmental trajectory than that of individuals with ocular based blindness. Despite being the primary cause of pediatric visual impairment in developed countries, the underlying neurophysiology of CVI is not well understood. We will discuss how neuroscience studies using brain imaging can help disentangle differences between these two groups in terms of the organization of the brain. These differences are likely to have important implications regarding the assessment, education, and rehabilitation of these individuals.