ClinicalTrials.gg
Active, not recruitingNCT06578117Updated Oct 20, 2026

Statistical Learning as a Novel Intervention for Cortical Blindness

An interventional study of Vision Training and Learning Task in Stroke, Ischemic, Hemianopia, Homonymous and Hemianopsia, sponsored by University of Rochester. Active, not recruiting at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 21 Years to 75 Years, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-10-20.

Sponsored by University of Rochester · Not applicable, Interventional, and Basic science

Updated Oct 20, 2026Now Active, not recruitingGo to Updates ↓
Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
30
Allocation
Non-randomized
Ages
21 Years to 75 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

This project aims to develop a novel visual training paradigm for use in visually-intact participants and those sufferings from stroke-induced visual impairments. Our task design is built upon theories of statistical learning to reduce the overall training burden while still producing profound improvements to visual abilities. Efficacy will be first established in visually-intact controls before testing in stroke survivors to assess the feasibility of this form of learning in the damaged visual system.

02

Conditions studied

  • Stroke, Ischemic
  • Hemianopia, Homonymous
  • Hemianopsia
  • Occipital Lobe Infarct
  • Visual Field Defect, Peripheral
  • Vision Loss Partial
  • Quadrantanopia
  • Stroke Hemorrhagic

Keywords

  • occipital stroke
  • vision loss after stroke
  • vision recovery
  • vision restoration
  • partial vision loss
03

In context

Ischemic Stroke

2,612 studies on the registry are indexed under Ischemic Stroke; 971 are open to participants now.

This study's planned enrollment of 30 is below the median of 120 across 1,776 interventional studies indexed under Ischemic Stroke.

Browse Ischemic Stroke studies →

Lead sponsor

University of Rochester is the lead sponsor of 729 studies on the registry; 116 are open to participants now.

Of its 56 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 44 (79%) have results posted.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
21 Years to 75 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
Yes

Eligibility criteria

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
  • 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
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(1)

Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.

Informed consent

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05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Basic science
Allocation
Non-randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
30 participants (estimated)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Visual Training in Cortically Blind cohort

    Device: Vision Training and Learning Task

  • Experimental
    Visual Training in Control cohort

    Device: Vision Training and Learning Task

Interventions

  • DeviceVision Training and Learning Task

    Participants will be seated at a computer, and will be shown a random-noise visual stimulus drifting in one of eight directions. Participants will be instructed to indicate the direction of motion they perceive using a Sony Access Controller or a computer keyboard. Sound cues during stimulus presentation will also be used to ensure participants are aware of stimulus onset during the training task. After several repetitions of this visual training, a second set of visual cues will be presented to evaluate participant's learning of the program. Responses will be provided in the same manner by input from the controller or the keyboard.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Explicit Learning - Response Time

    Reaction time (ms) when performing motion discriminations for the final stimulus of a statistically-linked triplet will be compared against reaction times for stimuli with identical motion directions, presented with alternative placement within a triplet. Comparisons will be made only for correct responses in the final 20% of overall testing session trials.

    Time frame: Baseline

  2. Implicit Learning - Triplet Familiarity

    Participant familiarity with statistically-linked triplets of motion will be assessed via a two-interval, forced-choice task. Familiarity will be measured as a percentage of comparisons in which the more prevalent triplet is selected as more familiar. Familiarity of high-probability, low-probability, and null-probability triplets will be compared following training.

    Time frame: Baseline

07

Study locations

1 site
08

References and documents

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No

No publications or documents are linked to this record.

09

Updates

1 registry update since Sep 25, 2026
Status
Enrolling by invitation→Active, not recruiting
changed Oct 20, 2026
Show all 1 update
  1. Oct 20, 2026
    Enrolling by invitation→Active, not recruiting
    + 1 other change: verification date

From the registry record's own update history. This site started tracking changes on Sep 25, 2026; for anything earlier, see the record history on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT06578117
Responsible party
Krystel Huxlin (James V. Aquavella Professor of Ophthalmology, Associate Chair for Research, Dept. Ophthalmology, University of Rochester) — Principal investigator
First posted
Aug 29, 2024
Start date
Nov 6, 2024
Primary completion
Oct 1, 2027 (estimated)
Completion
Oct 1, 2027 (estimated)
Last update
Oct 20, 2026

Oversight

FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Not currently enrolling

This study is active, not recruiting, as verified in Oct 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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