Brain training game aims to restore sight after stroke
NCT ID NCT06578117
First seen Jun 24, 2026 · Last updated Sep 17, 2026 · Updated 3 times
Summary
This study tests a new computer-based visual training task for people who have lost part of their vision due to a stroke. Participants watch moving patterns on a screen and learn to detect motion direction, with the goal of improving visual abilities. The study first checks if the training works in healthy people, then tests it in 30 stroke survivors to see if their damaged brains can still learn this way.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Vision training and learning task (computer-based motion discrimination)
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could point toward a new, low-burden training method to help restore some visual abilities in people with stroke-related vision loss.
- What could go wrong
- This is a very early, small study (30 participants) testing feasibility in a lab setting. It may not lead to real-world improvements or work for all types of vision loss.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 30 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Nov 2024
- Expected to finish
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Oct 2027
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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21 to 75 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Accepted
You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Cortically Blind participants Inclusion criteria: * Between 21 and 75 years of age * Residents of the United States or Canada * Have successfully completed previous enrollment in Dr. Huxlin study (IRB #5966 or #75) * Exhibit unilateral stroke or stroke-like damage to primary visual cortex or its immediate afferent white matter sustained within the specified age range of 21 - 75 years (verified by MRI and/or CT scans) * Reliable visual field defects in both eyes (homonymous defects) as measured by Humphrey visual fields. This deficit must be large enough to enclose a 5-deg diameter visual stimulus. * Able to fixate on visual targets reliably for 1000ms within 1-deg of visual angle. * Willing, able, and competent to provide their own informed consent * Normal cognitive abilities and be able to understand written and oral instructions in English Exclusion criteria: * Past or present ocular disease interfering with visual acuity * Best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) worse than 20/40 in either eye * Sustained documented or suspected damage to the dorsal Lateral Geniculate Nucleus * Presence of diffuse whole brain degenerative processes * History of traumatic brain injury * Any other brain damage deemed by study staff to potentially interfere with training ability or outcome measures * Documented history of drug/alcohol abuse * Currently taking neuroactive medications which would impact training, as determined by PI * Cognitive or seizure disorders * One-sided attentional neglect * Those who lack the competence or are otherwise unable to perform the visual training exercises as directed. Control participants Inclusion criteria: * Between 21 and 75 years of age * No history of neurological disorder. * Competent and responsible, as determined by the screening interview Exclusion criteria: * Any damage to the visual system * Those who are suffering from an active disease process involving their nervous system. * Presence of cognitive or seizure disorders * Best corrected visual acuity worse than 20/40 in either eye * Presence of visual field loss from ocular disease or disorder
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
The full official record for this study. This one lists no contact details, but it is the first place any would appear.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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University of Rochester Medical Center
Rochester, New York, 14642, United States
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Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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- Natural capsule tested as Add-On for stroke recovery
- Zapping the brain to restore lost vision
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