Brain Knows How to Integrate Natural, Artificial Vision

Raising hope of effective treatment for age-related macular degeneration (AMD), researchers have found that the brain knows how to integrate natural and artificial vision, while maintaining information processing that is important for vision.

AMD is a common cause of severe vision loss in among those aged 50 and over.

Though there is no cure for AMD, significant recent advancements in artificial retina implants may lead to effective treatment.

"These pioneering results have implications for better restoration of sight in AMD patients implanted with retinal prosthetic devices and support our hypothesis that prosthetic and natural vision can be integrated in the brain," said the study's lead author Yossi Mandel from Bar-Ilan University in Israel