Page 416 - Total War on PTSD

Retinal neuromodulation is the modification of neurological systems via retinal stimulation and an emerging area of Neuro-Optometric Rehabilitation. Mind-Eye examinations apply scientific principles in addressing issues related to a patient’s neurological imbalances including abnormal responses and reactions to the environment.
Executive function skills, which develop by the time a person reaches 25 years of age and are based on “Who am I” experiences, can decline or disappear as a result of aging, disease, or injury. Other brain processes such as perception, emotion, and unconscious responses at the chemical and proprioceptive (sensory input and feedback that relates to body movement and positioning). Many skills can be rebuilt due to brain and retinal plasticity. Because it is part of the central nervous system, the eye, and more specifically the retina, is not isolated from other sensory, motor, emotional and cognitive systems.
As discussed earlier in this chapter, the eye plays a critical role in routing information through multiple brain pathways to the visual cortex. Much of this activity occurs beneath conscious awareness. What small portion reaches conscious awareness represents a conglomeration of inputs from a variety of senses, including the visual, auditory, and olfactory systems. The mind, body, and environment are continually shifting to achieve a comfortable balance, but this normal process is inhibited by neurological injury, disease, stress, or trauma.
Because of researchers’ increased understanding of neuromodulation, the role of neuro- optometric rehabilitation as a non-invasive approach to brain function has grown in importance. The use of different lenses, prisms, mirrors, filters, and other optometric interventions to stimulate the retina is allowing eye professionals to evaluate possible hidden dysfunctions in mind-eye connections or neurologic disruptions that can impact a person’s social, academic, and sports performances. By bending light in different ways across the retina, incoming visual signals are altered and informational pathways in the brain are changed, thereby enhancing spatial awareness, cognition, and perception.
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