title: Assessment of cortical dysfunction in infantile esotropia using fMRI.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is popular in the field of neuroimaging. The aim of this study was to explore the neural basis of infantile esotropia and locate the cortical region of fusion function defects using blood oxygen level-dependent fMRI (BOLD-fMRI).
  
  
  METHODS
  Subjects (5 with infantile esotropia and 8 normal) were presented with a visual stimulus  (letter E). The BOLD-fMRI was used to measure the visual cortex response as the distance between the E and the eyes changing from 20 to 100 cm using a block experimental design. Data were processed offline using statistical parametric mapping and compared between the 2 groups.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Areas activated in the visual cortex of normal subjects were located in the bilateral frontal gyrus and left lingual visual cortex (p<0.001). The BOLD signal in the left cingulate gyrus, bilateral precuneus, and left angular gyrus was higher in the infantile esotropia group than in the controls (p<0.001). None of the visual cortical areas showed higher signal in the control individuals than in those with infantile esotropia (p<0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The bilateral frontal gyrus and left lingual visual cortex regulate normal fusion function in human eyes. In infantile esotropia, the left cingulate gyrus, bilateral precuneus, and left angular gyrus visual cortex may compensate for the fusion dysfunction. These insights may help improve the diagnosis and treatment of strabismus.
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Ophthalmology, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan - P.R. China.
authors.forename: Xubo
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Junran
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Lijuan
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lang
authors.forename: Qiyong
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Gong
authors.forename: Longqian
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D004948:Esotropia / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D010100:Oxygen / Q000097:blood; D015348:Vision, Binocular / Q000502:physiology; D014792:Visual Acuity / Q000502:physiology; D014793:Visual Cortex / Q000503:physiopathology*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D010100:Oxygen