About the speaker
Benjamin A. Rowland obtained the BS degree in Psychology from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, in 2000, and the Ph.D. degree in Cognitive Science from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, USA, in 2004. After being employed as postdoctoral research fellow at the Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine, USA, he joined the faculty of Wake Forest University School of Medicine, in 2007 as Assistant Professor, and then he became in 2021 Professor at the same Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy.
His research interests include:
- Temporal dynamics of multisensory integration in physiology and behavior
- Anatomical, physiological, and experiential dependencies of its development
- Computational modeling of integration at the cellular and behavioral levels
- Translational applications of multisensory integration
Abstract
Hemianopia (unilateral blindness), a common consequence of stroke and trauma to visual cortex, is a debilitating disorder for which there are few treatments. Recent research has suggested that visual-auditory stimulation therapy, which exploits the brain’s multisensory architecture, may be effective in restoring visual sensitivity in hemianopia. It was tested in a pilot study of two male patients that were hemianopic for at least eight months following a stroke. The patients were repeatedly exposed to congruent visual-auditory stimuli within their blinded hemifield during two-hour sessions over several weeks. The results were dramatic. Both recovered the ability to detect and describe visual stimuli throughout their formerly blind field within a few weeks. They could also localize these stimuli, identify some of their features, and could perceive multiple visual stimuli simultaneously in both fields. These results indicate that the multisensory therapy is a rapid and effective method for restoring visual function in hemianopia.