Brain Mechanism of Eye Diseases

Vision begins in the retina, which collects and processes visual information from the outside world and passes it to the brain where visual perception forms. We know that some ocular diseases are closely related to brain lesions. Amblyopia is a typical example that is caused by defects in the visual cortex. Moreover, there are many diseases in the brain that affect the eyes, such as ischemic brain lesions, which usually cause optic neuropathy and affect the patient's vision. A pituitary tumor often compresses optic nerve axons at the chiasm and causes partial blindness in the visual field. Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease patients also show degenerative defects in the retina.

The relationship between eye diseases and brain diseases is intriguing. Although we all know that the eye and the brain make up the visual system, the interactions between ocular research and brain research are not as tightly integrated as they should be.

In another aspect, the etiology of some ocular diseases is still mysterious. And the causes of some brain diseases are still a puzzle, too. To identify the etiology of some ocular diseases, we need to consider the relationship between ocular diseases and brain lesions. Like the question of the chicken and the egg, which comes first, the eye disease or the brain disease? Or are they just coincident? We need to think, imagine, and most importantly, we need more research to find the truth.

This Research Topic is to call for research into the brain mechanism of ocular diseases. It may include but is not limited to the following aspects:

• Brain defects in ocular disease animal models.
• Brain defects in ocular disease patients.
• Ocular defects in brain disease animal models.
• Ocular defects in brain disease patients.