Stroke vision loss: brain training shows promise in new study

NCT ID NCT04798924

Knowledge-focused Sponsor: University of Rochester Source: ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026

Summary

This study looks at how the brain's visual system changes in the year after a stroke that damages the vision center. Researchers will measure vision and brain structure over time, and give participants a home-based computer training program that asks them to detect moving dots. The goal is to understand if and when the brain can adapt, and whether training can help restore lost vision.

What this could mean

Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.

Active substance: computer-based visual training software
What this could lead to: If successful, this could point toward effective home-based training programs to improve vision after a stroke.
What could go wrong: This is an early-stage observational study with no control group, so it cannot prove the training works. Results may not apply to all stroke survivors.

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

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

About 60 people

The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.

Started

Jul 2021

Expected to finish

Jan 2028

An estimate. End dates often move.

Lead sponsor

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

21 to 75 years

Sex

Anyone

Healthy volunteers

Not accepted

This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.

Show 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.

Inclusion Criteria: * Residents of US and Canada * MRI and/or CT scans showing evidence of one-sided / unilateral stroke or stroke-like damage to the primary visual cortex or its immediate afferent white matter sustained less than 6-months prior to enrollment * Reliable visual field defects in both eyes as measured by Humphrey, Macular Integrity Assessment (MAIA), Goldmann, and/or equivalent perimetry. This deficit must be large enough to enclose a 5-deg diameter visual stimulus. * Ability to fixate on visual targets reliably for 1000ms (as demonstrated by visual fields, and verified in study participation) * Willing and safely able to undergo magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanning * Willing, able, and competent to provide informed consent * Fluent in written and spoken English * Cognitively able, responsible, and willing to complete daily visual training independently at home for several months. Exclusion Criteria: * Past or present ocular disease interfering with vision * Best corrected visual acuity worse than 20/40 in either eye * Presence of damage to the dorsal Lateral Geniculate Nucleus, as shown on MRI/CT scans * Diffuse, whole brain degenerative processes * Brain damage deemed by study staff to potentially interfere with training ability or outcome measures * History of traumatic brain injury * Documented history of drug/alcohol abuse * Currently use of neuroactive medications which would impact training, as determined by PI * Cognitive or seizure disorders * One-sided attentional neglect * Inability to perform the visual training exercises as directed

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Conditions

The condition(s) this trial relates to.

Hemianopsia Hemorrhagic Stroke intracerebral hemorrhage ischemic stroke posterior cerebral artery infarction stroke disorder vision disorder

As listed by the trial registrant

The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.

Hemianopia Hemianopsia Homonymous hemianopia Homonymous hemianopsia Occipital lobe infarct Peripheral visual field defect Peripheral visual field defect of both eyes Quadrantanopia Quadrantanopsia Stroke hemorrhagic Stroke, ischemic Vision loss partial Visual field defect, peripheral Visual fields hemianopsia

Stroke vision loss: brain training shows promise in new study

What the study statuses mean