Schizophrenia and cortical blindness: Protective effects and implications for language
The repeatedly noted absence of case-reports of individuals with schizophrenia and congenital/early developed blindness has led several authors to argue that the latter can confer protective effects against the former. In this work, we present a number of relevant case-reports from different syndrom...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2014-11-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Human Neuroscience |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fnhum.2014.00940/full |
| _version_ | 1818097374168350720 |
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| author | Evelina eLeivada Cedric eBoeckx |
| author_facet | Evelina eLeivada Cedric eBoeckx |
| author_sort | Evelina eLeivada |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The repeatedly noted absence of case-reports of individuals with schizophrenia and congenital/early developed blindness has led several authors to argue that the latter can confer protective effects against the former. In this work, we present a number of relevant case-reports from different syndromes that show comorbidity of congenital and early blindness with schizophrenia. On the basis of these reports, we argue that a distinction between different types of blindness in terms of the origin of the visual deficit, cortical or peripheral, is crucial for understanding the observed patterns of comorbidity. We discuss the genetic underpinnings and the brain structures involved in schizophrenia and blindness, with insights from language processing, laying emphasis on the three structures that particularly stand out: the occipital cortex, the lateral geniculate nucleus and the pulvinar. Last, we build on previous literature on the nature of the protective effects in order to offer novel insights into the nature of the protection mechanism from the perspective of the brain structures involved in each type of blindness. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-10T23:19:30Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ff98592a7a2a416e87aa07598f3f511f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1662-5161 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-10T23:19:30Z |
| publishDate | 2014-11-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Human Neuroscience |
| spelling | doaj.art-ff98592a7a2a416e87aa07598f3f511f2022-12-22T01:29:46ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Human Neuroscience1662-51612014-11-01810.3389/fnhum.2014.00940110863Schizophrenia and cortical blindness: Protective effects and implications for languageEvelina eLeivada0Cedric eBoeckx1Universitat de BarcelonaUniversitat de BarcelonaThe repeatedly noted absence of case-reports of individuals with schizophrenia and congenital/early developed blindness has led several authors to argue that the latter can confer protective effects against the former. In this work, we present a number of relevant case-reports from different syndromes that show comorbidity of congenital and early blindness with schizophrenia. On the basis of these reports, we argue that a distinction between different types of blindness in terms of the origin of the visual deficit, cortical or peripheral, is crucial for understanding the observed patterns of comorbidity. We discuss the genetic underpinnings and the brain structures involved in schizophrenia and blindness, with insights from language processing, laying emphasis on the three structures that particularly stand out: the occipital cortex, the lateral geniculate nucleus and the pulvinar. Last, we build on previous literature on the nature of the protective effects in order to offer novel insights into the nature of the protection mechanism from the perspective of the brain structures involved in each type of blindness.http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fnhum.2014.00940/fullLanguageSchizophreniaThalamusVisionoccipital cortexprotective effects |
| spellingShingle | Evelina eLeivada Cedric eBoeckx Schizophrenia and cortical blindness: Protective effects and implications for language Frontiers in Human Neuroscience Language Schizophrenia Thalamus Vision occipital cortex protective effects |
| title | Schizophrenia and cortical blindness: Protective effects and implications for language |
| title_full | Schizophrenia and cortical blindness: Protective effects and implications for language |
| title_fullStr | Schizophrenia and cortical blindness: Protective effects and implications for language |
| title_full_unstemmed | Schizophrenia and cortical blindness: Protective effects and implications for language |
| title_short | Schizophrenia and cortical blindness: Protective effects and implications for language |
| title_sort | schizophrenia and cortical blindness protective effects and implications for language |
| topic | Language Schizophrenia Thalamus Vision occipital cortex protective effects |
| url | http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fnhum.2014.00940/full |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT evelinaeleivada schizophreniaandcorticalblindnessprotectiveeffectsandimplicationsforlanguage AT cedriceboeckx schizophreniaandcorticalblindnessprotectiveeffectsandimplicationsforlanguage |